Companies Raise Salaries By N4.6tn In Six Months Says NBS

To combat rising inflation in the country, companies increased the salaries of their staff members by 18.35 per cent to N29.45 trillion in the first six months of 2023.

This is based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics ‘Nigeria Gross Domestic Product Report (Expenditure and Income Approach): Q1, Q2,’ report. Compensation of employees, which is the total remuneration in cash or in kind payable by employers to employees for the work done rose from N24.88tn as of the first half of 2022 to N29.45tn as of the first half of 2023.

This increase coincides with worsening economic conditions in the country, with workers faced with higher prices and cost of living.

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Record high inflation and the removal of fuel subsidy has weakened the purchasing power of Nigerians and exacerbated poverty in the country. By the end of the period under review, inflation rose to 22.79 per cent (it is now at 27.33 per cent as of October’s ending), 4.19 percentage points higher than the 18.60 per cent it was in June 2022.

In 2022, the World Bank warned that Nigeria’s increasing inflation growth had eroded the N30,000 minimum wage by 55 per cent and widened the poverty net with an estimated five million people in 2022.