Economy
1.7m Nigerians Lost Their Jobs in Nine Months—NBS
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has indicated that no fewer than 1.7 million Nigerians became jobless in nine months.
In the report titled ‘Unemployment/Under‐Employment Report Q3 2016’, it was revealed that from January 2016 to September 2016, the total number of person in full time employment (did any form of work for at least 40hours) decreased by 272,499 or 0.51 percent when compared to the previous quarter, and decreased by 1.66 million (1.7 million) or 3.01 percent when compared to Q3 of 2015.
NBS explained that the labour force population covers all persons aged 15 to 64 years who are willing and able to work regardless of whether they have a job or not. The definition of unemployment therefore covers persons (aged 15–64) who during the reference period were currently available for work, actively seeking for work but were without work.
It explained further that a person is regarded as employed if he/she is engaged in the production of goods and services, thereby contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in a legitimate manner, which is a component of the national accounts and receives any form or amount of compensation for that activity.
However, the NBS noted that underemployment occurs if one works less than full time hours, which is 40 hours, but work at least 20 hours on average a week and /or if you work full time but are engaged in an activity that underutilizes his skills, time and educational qualifications.
According to the report, the number of economically active population or working age population (persons within ages 15 and 64) increased from 106.69 million in Q2 2016 to 108.03 million, this represents a 1.26 percent increase over the previous quarter and a 3.57 percent increase when compared to Q3 2015.
It said in Q3 2016, the labour force population (i.e those within the working age population willing, able and actively looking for work) increased to 80.67 million from 79.9 million in Q2 2016, representing an increase of 0.98 percent in the labour force during the quarter.
This means about 782,886 persons from the economically active population entered the labour force, that is individuals that were able, willing and actively looking for work. This magnitude of increase between Q2 and Q3 2016 is smaller when compared to Q1 and Q2 2016, which was an increase of 1.39 million in the Labour force population.
The report noted that the “IMF Global growth forecast is projected to slow to 3.1 percent in 2016 before recovering to 3.4 percent in 2017.”
It however disclosed that, “The highest unemployment rate in the world is recorded in Djibouti (54%), Congo (46.1%), Bosnia and Herzegovinian (41.3%), Afghanistan (40%) and Kenya (40%) while the lowest are found in Qatar (0.2%), Cambodia (0.5%), Belarus (1%), Benin (1.0%), Thailand (1.2%),
Madagascar (1.2%) Laos (1.4%) and Guinea (1.7%).
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its gains by 1.68 per cent on Tuesday, February 10, further lifting the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 63.37 points to 3,830.31 points from the previous session’s 3,766.94 points.
In the same vein, the market capitalisation of the bourse expanded by N37.92 billion during the session to N2.291 trillion from the N2.253 trillion it ended on Monday.
The growth was helped by six price gainers led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), which gained N5.88 to sell at N64.73 per share versus N58.85 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc rose by N3.67 to N69.67 per unit from N66.00 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc increased by 94 Kobo to N15.95 per share from N15.01 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 33 Kobo to N4.41 per unit from N4.08 per unit, IPWA Plc soared by 26 Kobo to N2.85 per share from N2.59 per share, and Food Concepts Plc improved by 26 Kobo to N2.89 per unit from N2.63 per unit.
Business Post reports that there were three price losers yesterday, led by MRS Oil, which lost N20.00 to trade at N180.00 per share versus N200.00 per share, NASD Plc dipped by N3.60 to N51.40 per unit from N55.00 per unit, and Air Liquide Plc depreciated by N2.21 to N20.32 per share from N22.53 per share.
The activity level was down on Tuesday, as the volume of securities slid 50.1 per cent to 6.9 million units from 13.3 million units, the value of securities decreased by 10.4 per cent to N89.1 million from N99.3 million, and the number of deals reduced by 2.1 per cent to 46 deals from 47 deals.
CSCS Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 17.7 million units sold for N752.8 million, Geo-Fluids Plc recorded the sale of 29.2 million units valued at N149.8 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc ended with a turnover of 1.8 million units worth N119.8 million.
The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was Geo-Fluids Plc with 29.2 million units exchanged for N149.8 million, followed by CSCS Plc with 17.7 million units traded for N752.8 million, and Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 15.1 million units valued at N6.1 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The consistent reform agenda of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) aimed at enhancing market stability by improving foreign exchange (FX) liquidity further strengthened the Nigerian Naira against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, February 10, by N3.24 or 0.24 per cent to N1,351.02/$1 from the previous day’s N1,354.26/$1.
At the black market, the Naira gained N20 against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,430/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,450/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it improved its value by N16 to sell for N1,363/$1, in contrast to the N1,379/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
The domestic currency also appreciated against the Euro in the official market during the session by N6.70 to N1,606.49/€1 from the preceding session’s N1,613.19/€1 but depreciated against the Pound Sterling by 85 Kobo to close at N1,846.57/£1 compared with Monday’s closing price of N1,845.72/£1.
Nigeria’s FX market has continued the year on a firmer footing, extending the positive momentum recorded in 2025.
The Governor of the central bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, said reforms have extended across the financial landscape, anchored on disinflation, FX market normalisation, and financial-system resilience, which are strengthening real-sector confidence.
In addition, stronger trade receipts, reflecting the impact of elevated global oil prices, helped boost FX supply and support currency stability.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was under pressure, with analysts saying the recent drawdown, which is the steepest since the 2024 halving, has come on low spot trading volumes, suggesting retail investors have mostly stepped aside while leveraged derivatives drive price moves.
This comes ahead of a closely-watched US employment data for January due on Wednesday, which the US government officials suggest could be weaker than forecast.
Originally scheduled for last Friday, the government’s January Nonfarm Payrolls Report is now coming out on Wednesday morning due to the brief federal shutdown last month.
Solana (SOL) weakened by 4.5 per cent to $81.91, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped 4.4 per cent to $608.22, Ripple (XRP) dipped 4.3 per cent to $1.37, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 3.7 per cent to $1,975.44, and Dogecoin (DOGE) saw a 3.2 per cent fall in value to trade at $0.0916.
Further, Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 2.8 per cent to $67,517.93, Cardano (ADA) slid 2.7 per cent to $0.2581, and Litecoin (LTC) declined by 2.1 per cent to $52.55, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian bourse showed no signs of slowing its bull run as it further appreciated by 1.65 per cent on Tuesday, its highest daily gain in 2026.
This was influenced by continued interest in shares in the energy, consumer goods and industrial goods sectors.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited revealed that the energy space increased by 2.97 per cent, the industrial goods counter appreciated by 2.93 per cent, the banking index expanded by 1.83 per cent, the consumer goods sector improved by 0.16 per cent, and the insurance segment rose by 0.01 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) added 2,863.20 points to close at 176,809.42 points compared with the previous day’s 173,946.22 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N1.838 trillion to N113.497 trillion from N111.659 trillion.
The growth recorded by Customs Street yesterday was mainly due to buying pressure on some bellwether stocks like MTN, GTCO, BUA Cement, Lafarge Africa and others.
Sixty-six equities ended on the gainers’ chart during the session, while 22 equities finished on the losers’ chart, indicating a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
The quartet of Omatek, Deap Capital, eTranzact, and John Holt chalked up 10.00 per cent each to sell for N3.19, N8.25, N20.35, and N8.80 apiece, while Vitafoam Nigeria gained 9.98 per cent to settle at N105.80.
Conversely, Abbey Mortgage Bank lost 9.82 per cent to trade at N12.40, SAHCO declined by 9.06 per cent to N150.00, Guinea Insurance slipped by 6.67 per cent to N1.54, Consolidated Hallmark shrank by 6.64 per cent to N4.50, and Livestock Feeds depleted by 6.34 per cent to N6.65.
A total of 1.3 billion stocks valued at N50.4 billion exchanged hands in 58,965 deals on Tuesday compared with the 775.2 million stocks worth N27.9 billion transacted in 65,960 deals on Monday, implying a fall in the number of deals by 10.61 per cent, and a growth in the trading volume and value by 67.70 per cent and 80.65 per cent, respectively.
Deap Capital was the most active stock for the day with a turnover of 283.1 million units valued at N2.0 billion, Access Holdings traded 135.5 million units worth N3.2 billion, Veritas Kapital transacted 67.3 million units for N149.7 million, Tantalizers exchanged 54.7 million units valued at N289.8 million, and Zenith Bank sold 52.1 million units worth N4.0 billion.
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