Daybreak, Politics, Entertainment, Sport

Tag: Unemployment Rate

  • 2023: Inflation, unemployment rate to increase – Report

    2023: Inflation, unemployment rate to increase – Report

    A report by Money Africa has said that Nigerians need to get out of bad debts to survive the financial challenges in 2023.

    It noted that the residual effect of the pandemic, Russian Ukraine war and high inflation had affected the finances of Nigerians and led to loaning from every means possible to survive.

    In the report titled ‘2023 optimism: Making the best of a potentially challenging year’, it said that in Nigeria, the elections were going to be pivotal to how the year would turn out.

    Regardless, the problem of slow growth, high inflation and high unemployment would persist, it stated.

    These problems could be worsened by the phasing out of petrol subsidies and a sustained depreciation of the currency unless oil exports recover strongly.

    While advising Nigeria to avoid debts, it stated, “There are two types of debts: Good debt and bad debt. You need to let go of bad debt on consumables (debt that has no future value) and gravitate towards good debt. A good debt bears fruit in the future.

    “Be less aggressive with non-conventional and high-risk investments. Less than five of your portfolio should be embedded in high-risk assets. The argument here is that, if the investment goes to zero, your portfolio is still standing firm.”

    Advising Nigerians to focus on the things within its control, it stated, “You can not change the inflation rate. You cannot stop the Naira depreciation. They are out of your control, so you will do well to rather focus on what you can impact.”

    According to the report, in a bid to fight the low tolerance for inflation, the central banks of countries raised interest rates. This had the greatest impact on personal finances since 2008/2009. Many economies slowed down, prompting fears about a recession which also led to job losses. Higher interest rates also led to a reduction in personal wealth as assets people invested in—bonds, real estate, stocks and cryptocurrencies—lost a lot of value.

    The report added that to mitigate emergencies individuals must invest in insurance.

    It stated, “We did a quick survey asking people what their emergencies were and we realised they were primarily health emergencies, losing jobs and having an automobile accident.

    “You can mitigate health emergencies by getting a health insurance plan, so you do not spend out of pocket. We understand how painful losing jobs can be; so, we recommend skilling up aggressively and being visible on platforms such as LinkedIn and others. For automobile accidents, we recommend getting a comprehensive insurance plan (not a third party plan), so it covers everything.”

    The report explained that money and the mind were critical conversations individuals should constantly have.

    It stated, “Your mindset about money has been formed since age seven. So, you need to unlearn things that do not serve you and embrace the things that give you joy. Do you have a fund for enjoyment? Are you writing out your big dreams that can give birth to more opportunities? What steps are you taking to bring it to fruition?”

  • FG set to unlock economy, reduce poverty rate to 0.6%, Unemployment Rate to 6.3% beyond 2023 – Agba

    FG set to unlock economy, reduce poverty rate to 0.6%, Unemployment Rate to 6.3% beyond 2023 – Agba

    By Joyce Remi-Babayeju

    Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, announced that the Federal Government is set to unlock all potential sectors of the economy to push the nation’s per capita income to $33.000 and to bring about a national development.

    Prince Agba made this known on Wednesday in Abuja at a press briefing of 28th National Economic Summit ,NE#28, holding from the 14th-15th of November 2022, with the theme “2023 and Beyond: Priorities for Shared Prosperity”.

    According to the minister, the NES#28 is to discuss priorities for post 2023 with emphasis on the policies and strategies captured in the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025 and Nigeria Agenda, NA, 2050. 

    He explained that the NA 2050 was designed to transform the country with a Per Capita Income of $33,000 while the NDP 2021-2025 was designed with the vision to unlock the country’s potential in all sectors of the economy for a sustainable and inclusive national development.

    Agba said, “The plan is meant to drastically bring poverty rate to 0.6% and unemployment rate to 6.3%, while transforming the economy to the highest per capita GDP in the group of Upper-middle Income Economies.”

    He added that NA 2050 would be implemented through a series of six number 5-year Medium Term Plans and Annual Budgets.

    Furthermore, the minister disclosed that the government would involve the private sector in achieving these plans to ensure a sustainable and inclusive national development.

    He said, “The private sector will be the engine of growth of the economy, while the government will implement policies and regulations that promote favorable business environment to achieve high rate of investment and savings.”

    “The investment is necessary to raise the economy to a GDP of $11.7 trillion by 2050 while structural barriers that constrain the vulnerable segment of the society from realizing its potential are addressed.”

    The Minister disclosed that the summit would focus on Delivering Macroeconomic Stability for Shared Prosperity, investing in the Nigeria future, Unlocking the Binding Constraints to Education and Reframing the Agenda for Transformational Leadership.

    Meanwhile, Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, NESG, Mr Asue Ighodalo, in his remarks, noted that the nation was in a season of social discontent characterized by massive economic pressures and challenges on businesses and the citizens. 

    Ighodalo lamented that macroeconomic instability is pushing more people below the poverty line, as the World Bank estimated 7 million Nigerians in extreme poverty by this year, 2022, alone.

     “These socioeconomic pressures are accentuated by rising food inflation and a growing food insecure population that the World Food Programme puts at 61 Million as of October 2022.”

    “This situation has over 38% of our under-5 children experiencing chronic malnutrition and 70% of our children suffering from Learning Poverty (lacking basic literacy and numeracy skills)” he explained.

    He, however, expressed hope that in five years’ time, Nigeria could become a leading industrializing and reforming nation in Africa that “focuses on building its State capacity and capabilities in five years’ time.