The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria reported more than twice as many job additions in 2025 as in 2024, but the second-half reversal highlights how costs and weak demand constrained factory hiring.
BusinessDay reported that MAN Director-General Segun Ajayi-Kadir presented the figures at the association’s 54th annual general meeting in Lagos. MAN reported 81,174 additions in 2025, against 34,769 in 2024, an annual increase of 133%.
The 18,268 additions logged in the second half made up roughly 22.5% of the annual total. Second-half additions were about 71% lower than in the first half.
Ajayi-Kadir credited the earlier hiring gains to currency stability for imported inputs, firmer business confidence and stronger exports of manufactured goods. He said rising costs and softer consumer demand later undermined that momentum.
BusinessDay reported that geopolitical shocks pushed diesel and gas prices higher, while unreliable grid electricity left factories relying on costly self-generated power. MAN said energy made up more than 30% of production costs in some subsectors. Commercial borrowing rates were above 30%, limiting firms’ ability to finance expansion.
The report said reduced household purchasing power led some companies to stop recruiting. It also linked factory closures and workforce reductions in 2024 to high inflation and limited access to foreign exchange. BusinessDay characterized the later hiring decline as companies freezing recruitment while pausing expansion, rather than a wave of mass layoffs.
Manufacturing accounts for less than 10% of Nigeria’s gross domestic product but remains a major source of employment outside agriculture and government, according to BusinessDay. The outlet said the trend matters for household income as well as economic growth.
MAN has called for cheaper finance and measures to ease factories’ energy burden, alongside reliable foreign-exchange access for imported industrial inputs, BusinessDay reported.
