By EMMANUEL ELEBEKE & RETNA TOHOMDET

A RESEARCH study on job creation and employment in Nigeria conducted by Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa, CSEA and Nextier, has shown that unemployment challenges facing the African continent, especially Nigeria, has remained high, in spite of the significant progress made in achieving robust economic growth in the last decade.

The report pointed out that the failure of economic growth and government effort to create adequate jobs has forced the country to go back to the drawing board in an attempt to find a solution to this growing problem in the country, noting that this level of unemployment can only get worse unless innovative decisions are taken as Nigeria is fast becoming a service economy.

Speaking on the report at a one day dialogue organised by CSEA and Nextier Advisory to address the issue of job creation and employment generation strategies in the country, the Director of Research CSEA, Dr. Olumide Taiwo lamented that despite the recent achievement of robust economic growth in Nigeria, following the debasing of the GDP,     it has been accompanied by increasing rates of unemployment, especially among the youths.

The dialogue was designed to present results of rigorous research by CSEA and Nexier to help key stake holders create solutions to increasing unemployment rate in the country.

Corroborating the position of the report, Executive Chairman, African Centre for Shared Development Capacity Building, Professor Olu Ajakaiye, said it was unfortunate that the celebrated economic growth could not churn out the corresponding  quantity and quality of jobs in the economy and urged that generation of decent jobs should be carried out through public-private collaboration.