Why Nigeria, other Sub-Saharan African countries must urgently create jobs – IMF economists

Nigeria and other economies in Sub-Saharan Africa urgently need to create jobs for their growing population, experts at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday.

The need for quick response to this challenge is pressing across the region, especially in fragile and low-income countries, said Athene Laws and Fathen Saliba, two economists at the African Department of the IMF.

The experts, who made the submission at an analytical corner at the ongoing World Bank/IMF meetings in Washington DC, noted that three main challenges must be tackled to address job creation concerns in the region: transforming informality, addressing firm growth barriers, and accelerating structural transformation.

“Subsaharan Africa hasn’t created enough jobs,” the experts echoed, highlighting the potential effects of a challenge at the heart of economic prosperity in the region.

Underemployment remains extremely high in the region, while public sector provides the most stable jobs….