Nigeria’s Employment Crisis: Why Banks Dominate While Manufacturing, Tech and Agriculture Lag Behind
written (by Okafor Joseph Afam, July 8, 2025 | SpringnewsNG Media Limited)
Nigeria’s Job Market Imbalance: How Banks Became Top Employers Amidst Economic Weakness
A new report from Nairametrics reveals a troubling employment trend in Nigeria: banks now lead the nation in formal job creation, far ahead of productive sectors like manufacturing, technology, and agriculture. In 2024 alone, Nigeria’s top 10 listed companies employed 84,491 people and spent close to ₦1.7 trillion on wages. However, seven of those top employers were banks—a sign of imbalance in the country’s job ecosystem.
Banking Dominance Signals Economic Fragility
In countries with strong, inclusive economies, manufacturing, agriculture, and tech serve as key job creators, offering employment across all regions and education levels. But in Nigeria, the capital-intensive and skills-restrictive banking industry has become the largest formal employer.
According to analysts, this isn’t because the financial sector is booming, but because industries that traditionally create mass employment have collapsed. Outside of Dangote Cement, Flour Mills of Nigeria, and Julius Berger, no major manufacturing, tech, agro-processing, or logistics companies feature among Nigeria’s top employers. In a nation of over 200 million—nearly half under the age of 25—this is a clear red flag.
Service-Sector Jobs Are Not Enough
Banking jobs are typically limited to urban centers, often require university degrees, and are increasingly automated. While they serve a key role, these positions offer minimal opportunities to Nigeria’s vast youth population, especially those in rural areas.
Moreover, the structure is fragile. The financial sector is highly vulnerable to policy changes and macroeconomic shocks—currency devaluation, inflation, interest rate hikes, and new Central Bank regulations. These factors could quickly reverse job gains and disrupt incomes.
Who’s Really Driving Value?
Revenue per employee reveals deeper insights into sector productivity:
- Flour Mills of Nigeria: ₦222 million per employee
- Zenith Bank: ₦142 million
- GTCO: ₦126 million
- Dangote Cement: ₦76.5 million
While banks show decent productivity, Flour Mills outperforms them, proving that scaled manufacturing can offer both profitability and large-scale employment.
What Nigeria Must Do Now
Experts believe that reversing Nigeria’s job crisis starts with fixing the basics:
- Stable electricity
- Efficient transport infrastructure
- Transparent trade and investment policies
These are not luxuries but prerequisites for real economic growth and job creation.
In addition, government must roll out sector-specific incentives like tax relief, forex access for capital equipment, and credit guarantees for firms that invest in high-employment sectors and underserved regions.
The private sector also has a role to play. Businesses must stop waiting for perfect conditions. Manufacturers should scale up operations, banks should invest in innovative sectors, and logistics firms should digitize services. Crucially, Nigerian companies must view staff development not as an expense but as a strategic investment.
Avoiding a Jobless Recovery
If the current trend continues, Nigeria may enter a “jobless recovery”—where GDP improves but most citizens remain excluded from economic gains. Such disparity could increase distrust in government, trigger brain drain, and spark social unrest.
Nigeria has the human capital, resources, and market potential to shift from a service-heavy to a production-strong economy. But that shift demands intentional leadership, long-term policies, and urgent action.
The financial sector cannot—and should not—carry the burden of national employment alone. True economic progress will come from moving beyond the circulation of money toward the creation of value and inclusive jobs.
