Inflation: World Bank says Nigerian minimum wage now N19,355
As stated by the World Bank, Nigeria’s 2019 minimum salary of N30,000 is presently comparable to N19,355 after adjusting for current inflation.
The World Bank declared this information on Thursday in Abuja during its Nigeria Development Update and Country Economic Memorandum.
They urged the Nigerian government to enhance investment incentives such as improved access to capital, trade, and energy generation.
The Bank indicated that Nigeria’s nominal minimum salary in 2019 was N30,000, which translates to $82 in dollar terms, illustrating that the cumulative inflation between 2019 and 2022 was 66%.
The actual minimum salary in naira in 2022, after adjusting for inflation, is N19,355, according to the World Bank, who added that in dollar terms, it amounts to $26 in 2022 “after considering both inflation and exchange rate devaluations.”
They elaborated, “The exchange rate in the parallel market fell from N367 to N760.
They also revealed seven critical evaluations of Nigeria’s growth performances over the last 20 years, ranging from worsening macroeconomic stability to excessive dependence on oil exports:
Macroeconomic stability has consistently declined over the past decade as Nigeria falls behind Africa in its Macrostability Index at 30 points, compared to 90 for sub-Saharan Africa.
Historic growth performances of the Nigerian economy were directly associated with the speed of reforms, they mentioned.
Nigeria is deficient in large and mid-sized formal productive enterprises,
Excessive dependence on oil exports has obstructed economic diversification.
Slow structural transformation and job creation rates in Nigeria.
Employment growth is not happening in subsectors with the highest labor productivity growth, thereby hindering value addition.
Absence of economic transformation obstructing poverty alleviation.
The Bank emphasized that a selected set of reforms would be essential to map out a new growth trajectory.
What you should be aware of
The inflation rate in Nigeria rose to 21.47% in November from 21.09% in October, indicating the tenth consecutive month of increase since the beginning of the year.
The inflation rate in Nigeria has now hit its highest point since September 2005, when it was 24.32%.
The NBS attributes the continuing currency depreciation and a general rise in production costs as responsible for the increase in the year-over-year inflation rate. Import expenses have surged as a result of this.
One of the most closely monitored indices, food inflation, rose to 24.13% in November 2022 from 23.72% in October 2022. Price surges for bread and cereals, oil and fats, potatoes, yams, and other tubers, food products, and fish were the primary contributors to the escalation in food inflation.
