By Olaitan Ibrahim
In a positive development for Nigeria’s economy, job opportunities are anticipated to increase across multiple sectors as businesses express optimism in their expansion plans, according to the latest Business Expectations Survey (BES) report released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The July 2024 BES, conducted between July 15 and 19, involved a sample of 1,600 business enterprises across the country, achieving a 98.9 percent response rate. The survey covered key sectors, including industry, services, and agriculture, with responses drawn from subsectors like manufacturing, construction, mining and quarrying, and electricity, gas & water supply.
According to the report, businesses are particularly optimistic about the volume of business activities and employment outlook in August 2024, with indices standing at 14.4 and 8.1 points, respectively. These figures suggest potential growth in employment, which could stabilise the economy and generate job opportunities across various industries.
Respondents expressed confidence in expanding their operations across all sectors in August 2024. Notably, the agriculture sector showed the highest expansion potential, with a growth prospect of 66.9 percent, followed by the construction sector (56.3 percent), market services (55.2 percent), non-market services (50.9 percent), manufacturing (44.3 percent), and mining & quarrying (30.0 percent).
The expansionary trend aligns with a positive employment outlook across sectors, led by agriculture, with a sectoral employment outlook index of 14.5 points. The construction sector follows closely at 13.9 points, with mining & quarrying (11.8 points), manufacturing (6.0 points), non-market services (5.8 points), and market services (5.8 points) also expected to create more jobs.
However, the survey also highlighted significant challenges faced by businesses in the current month, with insecurity ranking as the top concern. Other factors such as high interest rates, insufficient power supply, high and multiple taxes, and issues of extortion and corruption were also cited as impediments to business growth.
As businesses look towards expansion, the positive sentiment captured in the CBN’s survey bodes well for the Nigerian economy, with job creation and economic stability on the horizon despite prevailing challenges.