In September, Nigeria’s factories and businesses did a bit worse than last time, marking the ninth time in a row they went down in 2024. The PMI number was 49.7.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shared this information. In September, some businesses did more work, with a PMI of 50.7. This means for two months in a row, business activities got busier.
When we look at different parts of the economy, the Services area became busier for the fourth time in a row. The Farms and Agriculture areas got busier for the second time.
Even though the Industry part did less work, it wasn’t as bad as in August 2024.
Since January 2024, Nigeria’s industries have not been doing too well. But lately, they are starting to get a bit busier.
The report says that out of 17 smaller parts of the industry, 10 got busier, 3 stayed the same, and 4 got quieter.
It says, “In September 2024, the factories and industries got a score of 49.7. Even though work slowed down, it’s better than last month.”
“If we look closer, Mining, Quarrying, Electricity, Gas and Water, and Building work grew. But making things in factories got slower in September 2024.”
“Out of 17 areas checked, 4 got quieter, 3 stayed the same, and 10 got busier. Making Paper got the quietest, while making Cement was the busiest.”
Also, the CBN said the amount of work done and materials used went up to 50.7 and 51.7 points. But new work orders and hiring slowed down to 49.9 and 48.2 points, while delivery times of suppliers slowed to 48.4 points in September 2024.
Jobs in Factories and Industries
In September 2024, job opportunities in industries were pushing at 48.2 points, which means fewer people are losing jobs now. Even though job numbers were down since March 2024, things are a little better than before.
Eight industrial areas hired fewer people, seven hired more, and two stayed the same, like Transport Equipment and Water and Waste Management.
This matches a report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which said that earlier in the year, the jobless rate went up to 5.3% at the start of 2024.