Report Reveals Growing Unemployment, Poor Salaries For Workers In Lagos

A new report has revealed there’s growing unemployment and poor salaries for workers in Lagos State.

The findings released by the Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget are part of the Lagos Economic Development Update (2025), and indicated that teachers and salespeople in the state earn average monthly salaries below N100,000, highlighting a growing concern over low wages in these sectors.

The report assessed job availability, salary trends, and labour market dynamics in the state.

Citing a survey compiled by the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), the report analyzed job vacancies and salary structures across different occupations between October 2023 and May 2024.

Over the eight-month period, Lagos recorded a total of 22,630 job vacancies, with professional roles such as accounting, management, ICT, and finance leading in demand.

In contrast, sales and service occupations had the lowest number of job openings, further emphasizing the limited opportunities available to workers in these fields.

The study also examined salary trends across industries, revealing that management positions attracted the highest average salaries at N215,000 per month. Other professional fields, including accounting, ICT, engineering, finance, and health, recorded average salaries ranging from N100,000 to N200,000.

However, sales, education, transport, and administrative roles fell below the N100,000 threshold, raising concerns about the financial well-being of workers in these sectors.

Further analysis of labour supply and demand showed that Lagos recorded 46,450 jobseekers between January 2023 and March 2024, with 51 percent lacking formal qualifications and 42 percent having no prior work experience.

These statistics indicate a major challenge in the job market, where a significant number of applicants struggle to meet the qualifications required by employers.

The report also highlighted that while job vacancies exist, many jobseekers reject offers due to low pay, long commuting distances, and job dissatisfaction.

“The analysis reveals that accounting, management, ICT, and finance recorded the highest cumulative job vacancies at 4,447, 3,230, 3,089, and 3,029, respectively, accounting for 19.65 percent, 14.27 percent, 13.65 percent, and 13.38 per cent of total vacancies over the eight-month period.

Other sectors such as industry, health, education, transport, and sales registered cumulative job vacancies exceeding 1,000, with shares of 8.33 percent, 7.67 percent, 6.7 percent, 4.83 percent, and 4.52 percent, respectively.

“However, legal and administration sectors recorded the lowest number of vacancies and shares within the same period.

“Regarding salary levels, management positions commanded the highest average monthly salary at N215,000. Other sectors, including accounting, ICT, legal, health, engineering, finance, industry, and technician roles, had average salaries ranging between N100,000 and N200,000. In contrast, transport, administration, sales, and education recorded average salaries below N100,000,” the report highlighted.

The report calls for targeted skill development programs, vocational training, and improved workforce planning to bridge the gap between job availability and employee qualifications.

“The primary occupations in Lagos require advanced skills and experience, yet 67 percent of jobseekers may struggle to secure employment due to their lack of qualifications or relevant experience.

“The situation is even more concerning for the 26 percent of jobseekers who lack both qualifications and experience, as their prospects of gaining employment in Lagos’s formal labour market remain exceptionally low.

“Furthermore, the analysis reveals that labour supply currently exceeds labour demand, with a labour market surplus of 481 jobseekers. Notably, 863 of these jobseekers lack both a degree and work experience.

“Given that most available vacancies require at least one of these qualifications, these 863 jobseekers are unlikely to secure employment in the existing labour market structure.

“This suggests that a significant portion of the labour force faces structural barriers to employment, effectively excluding them from the pool of viable candidates for most job opportunities in Lagos State.

“This situation underscores the need for targeted skill development programmes, vocational training, and enhanced workforce planning to improve the employability of jobseekers, ensuring better alignment between labour supply and market demand in Lagos,” the report stated.

With salespeople and teachers earning less than N100,000 per month, concerns over the cost of living and job sustainability continue to grow.

“In recent weeks, residents have cried out over soaring rent in the state. For instance, a single room—not even a self-contained unit in the Agege area of Lagos is N260,000.

“This is even lower than N370,000 for a similar apartment in Ikeja. With rising costs of food and transportation, one can only imagine what those in sales, education, transport, and administrative sectors are going through.

Report Reveals Growing Unemployment, Poor Salaries For Workers In Lagos is first published on The Whistler Newspaper