Global Journal of Economic and Finance Research

Unemployment remains a significant issue in Nigeria, despite various policy measures aimed at fostering job creation and economic empowerment. This research examines the effectiveness of the National Directorate of Employment's (NDE) initiatives in reducing unemployment in Abuja, Nigeria. A mixed-methods approach was utilised to gather data from 250 beneficiaries of the program through structured surveys and 10 key informant interviews involving NDE officials and community leaders. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were applied to evaluate employment outcomes, while thematic analysis was used for qualitative data interpretation. The results indicated that NDE programs effectively lowered unemployment rates, boosted self-employment, and raised income levels for participants. The logistic regression findings identified access to credit, educational attainment, and the type of program as significant indicators of employment success. Nonetheless, challenges such as insufficient funding, inadequate monitoring, and poor access to credit facilities hindered long-term viability. The study concludes that although NDE interventions play a role in creating short-term employment, comprehensive reforms are essential for improving their sustainability and scalability. It suggests increasing funding, enhancing monitoring and evaluation processes, providing credit assistance, and ensuring alignment with broader industrial and entrepreneurial policies. 

National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Unemployment, Employment Initiatives; Job Creation, Vocational Skills, Program Effectiveness, Abuja, Nigeria

1. Adebowale, R. A., & Yusuf, A. A. (2021). Government employment programs and youth empowerment in Nigeria: A review of the National Directorate of Employment. Journal of African Development Studies, 13(2), 45–60.
2. Adegbite, W. M., & Olayemi, A. O. (2021). Unemployment and skill acquisition programmes in Nigeria: Evaluating the role of NDE. Journal of African Development Studies, 13(2), 45–60.
3. Adekoya, A. A., Magaji, S., & Ismail, Y. (2025). Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Unemployment on Economic Growth in Nigeria. International Journal of Innovative Finance and Economics Research, 13(2), 63–80. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15311427
4. Adewale, T., & Yusuf, I. (2021). Skill Acquisition and Microenterprise Creation among Youth in Lagos and Kaduna: Evidence from NDE programmes. African Journal of Labour and Employment Relations, 9(1), 78–95.
5. Agboola, A. F., & Usman, M. B. (2021). Public Works and Employment Generation in Nigeria: The NDE Perspective. Nigerian Journal of Policy and Development, 19(1), 77–94.
6. Akinwale, A. A. (2021). Tackling unemployment through vocational skills development: An appraisal of NDE’s intervention programs. International Journal of Social Policy and Administration, 8(1), 23–38.
7. Akinwale, A. A. (2021). Vocational skills and youth empowerment: Assessing the impact of NDE on women and rural youths in Nigeria. International Journal of Vocational and Technical Education, 5(3), 112–127.
8. Aliyu, M. B. (2020). Entrepreneurship training and livelihood outcomes: Evidence from NDE schemes in Abuja. Nigerian Journal of Development Studies, 10(4), 55–71.
9. Aliyu, M. U. (2020). Entrepreneurship development and employment generation: The role of the National Directorate of Employment in Abuja. Nigerian Journal of Public Administration, 17(3), 112–128.
10. Aryeetey, E., & Baah-Boateng, W. (2021). Employment Creation Interventions in Ghana: Policy Design and Outcomes. African Journal of Economic Policy, 28(2), 53–70.
11. Aryeetey, E., & Baah-Boateng, W. (2021). Employment generation programmes and youth unemployment in Ghana: Challenges and prospects. Journal of African Political Economy, 28(2), 143–161.
12. Becker, G. S. (1993). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education (3rd ed.). University of Chicago Press.
13. Bello, S., & Salihu, M. (2023). Access to government employment programmes: Barriers and perceptions of youth in northern Nigeria. Contemporary Journal of Public Policy, 7(1), 33–48.
14. Doeringer, P. B., & Piore, M. J. (1971). Internal labour markets and workforce analysis. D.C. Heath and Company.
15. Dutta, P., Murgai, R., Ravallion, M., & van de Walle, D. (2017). Right to work? Assessing India’s Employment Guarantee Scheme in Bihar. World Bank Economic Review, 31(1), 1–30.
16. Ekong, E. A. (2020). Youth unemployment and government intervention programs in Nigeria. African Journal of Economic Policy, 27(1), 89–105.
17. Ekong, U. (2020). Funding and monitoring challenges of NDE programmes in Nigeria. Journal of Policy and Development Studies, 14(1), 88–102.
18. Eke, C. I., Magaji, S., & Ezeigwe, G. C. (2020). An economic assessment model of employment dynamics, capacity development and household telecommunication expenditure in Nigeria. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 11(4).
19. Enaberue, E., Musa, I., & Magaji, S. (2024). Impact of Income Inequality on Poverty Levels in Nigeria: Evidence from an ARDL Model. Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting, 24(5), 86–98. https://doi.org/10.9734/AJEBA2024V24:51295I
20. Gabdo, A. L., Magaji, S., & Yakubu, J. (2025). Impact of government policies on educational quality in FCT Abuja, Nigeria. OSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science.
21. International Labour Organisation. (2022). World employment and social outlook: Trends 2022. ILO.
22. Ibrahim, Y., & Lawal, S. (2021). Post-training support and sustainability of NDE initiatives in Nigeria. Journal of African Entrepreneurship, 6(2), 77–94.
23. Jafaru, Y., Magaji, S., & Abdullahi, I. A. (2024). Poverty, Family Status, and Crime: Insights from Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria. International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, 5(5), 6745–6755.
24. Keynes, J. M. (1936). The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money. Macmillan.
25. Magaji, S. (2007). Poverty as a Factor in Child Labour in Developing Countries. Abuja Journal of Sociological Studies, 3(1), 66–81.
26. Magaji, S. (2008). Family Poverty and Child Schooling in Abuja: Intervention Areas for Sustainable Development. Nigerian Journal of Educational Administration and Planning, 8(3), 351–367.
27. Magaji, S. (2023). Faculty Strategies for Sustainable Human Capital and Achieving High University Rankings. Journal of Learning and Educational Policy, 3(2), 25–36.
28. Magaji, S., & Adamu, A. M. (2011). Youth employment in Nigeria since independence. In Nigeria at Fifty: Issues and Challenges in Governance (pp. 686–707).
29. Magaji, S., & Saleh, S. A. (2010). The Role of Small-Scale Industries in Economic Development of Nigeria. Abuja Journal of Banking and Finance, 2(2), 11.
30. Magaji, S., Abubakar, M. M., & Temitope, Y. A. (2022). Impact of International Trade on Economic Growth: A Granger Causality Test Approach. International Journal of Accounting and Management Sciences, 1(2), 113–130.
31. Magaji, S., Ayo, A. A., Musa, I., & Ali, S. (2019). Relative Impact of Monetary Policy Instruments on Economic Growth in Nigeria. Lapai Journal of Economics, 3(2), 93–118.
32. Magaji, S., Ismail, Y., & Musa, I. (2025). Impact of institutional quality on human capital development in Nigeria. MSI Journal of Economics and Business Management, 2(2), 21–26. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14936039
33. Malik, S., & Javed, A. (2021). Skills training and employability in Pakistan: Lessons from public employment schemes. Asian Journal of Development Policy, 12(3), 201–218.
34. McCord, A. (2019). Public Works and Labour Market Reform in South Africa. Journal of Development Studies, 55(2), 234–251.
35. McCord, A. (2019). Public works and youth employment in South Africa: Evaluating long-term sustainability. Development Southern Africa, 36(5), 649–664.
36. Muhammed, A. A., Magaji, S., & Ismail, Y. (2025). Examining the Challenges Hindering the Performance of Women Entrepreneurs in Kogi State. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation 8(2), 1–22. DOI: 10.52589/IJEBI EIACNM6Z
37. Musa, A., & Garba, Y. (2022). Regional disparities in the implementation of NDE programmes in Nigeria. African Journal of Social Policy, 15(1), 55–70.
38. Musa, I., Ismail, Y., & Magaji, S. (2024). Exploring the connection between poverty reduction and well-being in Nigeria. MRS Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Studies, 1(1), 19–32.
39. Mwangi, P., & Omolo, J. (2020). Youth Empowerment Programs and Entrepreneurship in Kenya: Achievements and Challenges. Journal of East African Development, 12(4), 212–229.
40. National Bureau of Statistics. (2023). Labour force statistics: Unemployment and underemployment report (Q4 2022). NBS.
41. National Directorate of Employment. (2021). Annual report 2020/2021. NDE Publications.
42. North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance. Cambridge University Press.
43. Nwankwo, O., & Eze, J. (2021). Small-scale enterprise development through the National Directorate of Employment in Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Economic Policy, 28(1), 96–115.
44. Ogunyemi, F., & Alabi, T. (2022). Entrepreneurship training and job creation in Nigeria: Evidence from NDE schemes. African Development Review, 34(4), 589–601. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8268.12629
45. Ogunyemi, O., & Alabi, R. (2022). Skills Acquisition, Credit Access, and Youth Unemployment in Nigeria: The Missing Link in NDE Interventions. African Review of Economics and Finance, 14(2), 67–83.
46. Okoro, J., & Abdulrahman, M. (2022). Youth Migration and Unemployment in Abuja: Implications for Urban Governance. Contemporary Journal of African Studies, 10(2), 141–157.
47. Okoye, P., & Ezejiofor, R. (2021). Labour market distortions and unemployment in Nigeria: A critical analysis. Journal of African Business, 22(3), 315–330.
48. Okoroafor, O. K., Magaji, S., & Eze, J. U. (2018). The impact of deposit money banks on capital formation in Nigeria: 1980–2015. International Journal of Current Research in Life Sciences, 7(8), 2570–2577.
49. Onah, C., & Aja, G. (2021). Graduate Attachment Programme and Employability in Nigeria: A Case Study of NDE. Journal of Management and Labour Studies, 46(1), 59–75.
50. Onah, F. O., & Aja, A. A. (2021). Graduate Unemployment and Work Experience Programs: Evaluating the NDE Graduate Attachment Program. Journal of Education and Work, 34(6), 701–715. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2021.1947392
51. Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford University Press.
52. Shaba, N. Y., Obansa, S. A. J., Magaji, S., & Yelwa, M. (2018). Analysis of the Relationship between Income Inequality and Poverty Prevalence in Selected North Central States of Nigeria. Journal of Economics and Public Finance, 4(2), 130–142.
53. Todaro, M. P., & Smith, S. C. (2020). Economic development (13th ed.). Pearson.
54. Ude, D. K., & Eze, R. O. (2020). Public sector interventions and youth empowerment: Evidence from South-East Nigeria. Journal of Social and Development Issues, 22(1), 63–80.
55. Ude, D., & Eze, R. (2020). Institutional weaknesses and unemployment relapse among NDE beneficiaries in Nigeria. Journal of African Governance and Development, 5(2), 120–138.
56. United Nations Development Programme. (2022). Nigeria Human Development Report 2022: Achieving the SDGs through inclusive growth. UNDP.
57. World Bank. (2020). World development report 2020: Trading for development in the age of global value chains. World Bank.
58. World Bank. (2022). Nigeria Development Update: The Urgency for Business Unusual. World Bank Publications.