The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has disclosed that no fewer than 3,567 jobs were lost in the manufacturing sector in the first half of 2023.
The association said employment generation in the manufacturing sector declined to 6,428 in the first half of 2023, causing a 32.8 per cent reduction in employment generation capacity when compared with 9,559 jobs generated in the first half of 2022.
OsunDailyNG gathered that MAN, which disclosed this on Tuesday during its half-yearly review of the economy, said the decline in the number of jobs created in the sector during the period was stirred by the unfriendly business environment, caused policies and residual effect of the currency redesign policy that led to the naira crunch.
The MAN report stated, “In the same vein, a total of 3,567 jobs were lost in the first half of 2023, indicating 1,855 more jobs lost when compared with the 1,709 jobs lost in the corresponding half of 2022, and 850 more jobs lost when compared with 2708 jobs lost in the last half of 2022.”
In addition to that, the association said the inventory of unsold finished products in the manufacturing sector increased to N271.9 billion during the first half of 2023, compared to N187 billion in the corresponding period of 2022.
The development showed a substantial rise of N84.88 billion or 45.4 per cent over the timeframe. It also showed N11.64 billion or 4.1 per cent decline when compared with the inventory value of N283.6 billion recorded in the second half of 2022.
The association also pointed out that subsidy removal and exchange rate unification policy towards the end of the first half left the economy on the brink of uncertainty, and caused a ripple effect that further eroded investors’ confidence.
The MAN report revealed that “This increase in inventory can be attributed to a weakened purchasing power of the consumers, brought about by diminishing real household income resulting from the ongoing escalation of inflationary pressures, compounded by the scarcity of naira in the first quarter of the year and the aftermath of the subsidy removal.
”As a result, businesses and foreign investors are increasingly wary of committing capital, thereby hindering economic growth and prospects for recovery.
“The combined effect of these is the resultant higher inflationary pressure, which fuels the cost of production, reducing consumers’ purchasing power and having a greater impact on the manufacturers.”
