In 2005, Nigeria had a labour force of 57.2 million. In 2003, the
unemployment rate was 10.8% overall; urban unemployment of 12.3% exceeded rural
unemployment of 7.4%. According to the latest available information from 1999,
labor force employment by sector was as follows: 70% in agriculture, 20% in
services, and 10% in industry. Labor unions, which have undergone periods of
militancy and quiescence, reemerged as a force in 1998 when they regained
independence from the government. Since 1999, the Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC
a union umbrella organization, has called six general strikes to protest
domestic fuel price increases.
However, in March 2005 the government introduced
legislation ending the NLC's monopoly over union organizing. In December 2005,
the NLC was lobbying for an increase in the minimum wage for federal workers.
The existing minimum wage, which was introduced six years earlier but has not
been adjusted since, has been whittled away by inflation to only US$42.80 per
month.
According to the International
Organization for Migration, the number of immigrants
residing in Nigeria has more than doubled in recent decades – from 477,135 in
1991 to 971,450 in 2005. The majority of immigrants in Nigeria (74%) are from neighbouring Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS), and that this number has increased
considerably over the last decade, from 63% in 2001 to 97% in 2005. In spite of
Nigeria's importance as a destination for migrants in the region, more people
are emigrating from, than immigrating to, Nigeria with the negative net
migration rate (per 1,000 people) steadily increasing in recent years, from
-0.2 in 2000 to -0.3 in 2005, and this trend is expected to continue. According
to recent estimates, the net migration rate could reach -0.4 in 2010.