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A new report from the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics and the United Nations Development Programme explains how the coronavirus pandemic has had a huge socio-economic impact on the livelihoods of Nigeria and its citizens.
A new report released on Tuesday provides a severe assessment of how the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted Nigeria’s economy and has had an uneven impact on the formal and informal sectors.
This report, jointly researched by the United Nations Development Programme and the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics, provides a detailed ledger detailing the disproportionate socio-economic impact of the pandemic on this most populous country in Africa.
The report’s executive summary said: “The wealthier countries are capable of sometimes adopting severe lockdowns and restrictions to stop the spread of the virus and support their populations so that they can stay at home to limit community transmission.”. “However, Many developing countries are often forced to rely on various cut-off measures to limit the impact on populations already living in poverty or relying on daily work for their livelihoods.”
Due to the rapid decline in oil prices-Nigeria’s most profitable export-and the deteriorating security situation, Nigeria entered this pandemic with an unstable financial foundation.
Then COVID-19 broke out into a global pandemic, bringing commercial activities to a halt and weakening the world’s oil demand.
Nigeria fell into its worst recession in four decades, and its economy shrank by 6.1% and 3.6% in the last two quarters of 2020, respectively.
The report found that a small number of companies, such as those that can switch to an e-commerce model, “either made gains or proved to be more resilient.” [File: Temilade Adelaja/Reuters]The report surveyed 3,000 businesses in the formal and informal sectors in Nigeria’s urban and rural areas, highlighting the devastating impact of the pandemic on the country’s unemployment rate.
The unemployment rate in Nigeria has soared to 27% in the second quarter of last year, and climbed to a staggering 33% in the fourth quarter of 2020.
The report pointed out: “43% of the sampled companies experienced a labor force decline. During this period, about 20% of the workers in the surveyed companies were unemployed.”
The report found that many companies, especially informal companies, said they had difficulty obtaining credit and funds to keep their doors open, and many owners had to rely on personal savings, family and social networks to make ends meet.
But the report also highlighted some flexibility in the Nigerian business landscape.
More than half of the companies surveyed (57%) said they were able to maintain their staffing levels during the pandemic.
A small number of companies, such as those that can switch to an e-commerce model, “either get benefits or prove more resilient.”
However, due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the path of the pandemic and ongoing efforts to ensure a sufficient COVID-19 vaccinated population, the report did not see a significant improvement in the workforce.
The report said: “This is reflected in the fact that a large percentage of companies expect that labor force growth may continue to stagnate, which may have serious consequences for the country’s unemployment and require strengthening of social welfare support.”
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