IIARD International Institute of Academic Research and Development

IIARD International Journal of Economics and Business Management (IJEBM )

E-ISSN 2489-0065
P-ISSN 2695-186X
VOL. 2 NO. 4 2016

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Export Processing Zones and Employment Generation in Nigeria, 2001 – 2013

Deinibiteim Monimah Harry

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Abstract

The study examined the contribution of export processing zones to job creation in Nigeria. The country adopted the EPZ strategy in 1992 with the setting up of the Calabar Free Trade Zone to create jobs, among other objectives, for the teeming unemployed population. Since then, 25 zones have been registered by NEPZA, the regulatory authority. Out of 25 zones registered 11 are functional, 9 under construction and 5 merely declared. Four (4) out of the 11 functional zones were systematically selected for the study, namely Calabar, Oil and Gas, Snake Island Integrated Free Trade Zones and Alscon Export Processing Zone. Two hundred and ninety (290) copies of questionnaire were administered on 290 participants purposively selected from 54 Free Zone enterprises and the 4 zonal management boards. Out of the 290 copies of questionnaire 242 copies were properly completed and returned. The 242 copies of questionnaire served as primary source of data, while textbooks, journals and official documents from NEPZA and NBS formed the secondary source of data. The study revealed that EPZs have not substantially addressed the unemployment problems of the nation. EPZs’ share of employment in Nigeria as a percentage of total national employment was at its peak in 2012, with a total of 40,129 employees, making 0.044 percent of the total working population of the country or 0.057 percent of total number of persons employed in the country. Consequently, the study recommends that a combination of capital- intensive and labour-intensive model of EPZs be adopted to create more job opportunities and there should be freedom of association in form of trade unions at the zones in the country.

keywords:

Job Creation; Export Processing Zone; Development; Unemployment; Economy; Strategy and Mono-product.

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