Economic Characteristics

Data on the economic characteristics of the population in the Municipality is significant for making sustainable interventions in development path of its economy. Again, the economic characteristics serve as development indicators to assess the growth of a settlement’s economy.

It is against this background that the economic characteristics of the population are examined in this chapter. The areas of focus include economic activity status, employment status, employment sector, industry and occupation of employment.

Economic Activity Status

On the average, about 3 out of every 4 persons (74.1%) aged 15 years and older are economically active (67.6 percent are employed and 6.5 percent are unemployed) while about one-quarter (25.9%) are economically not active in the Municipality as portrayed by Table 4.1. Differences exist between the sexes regarding their economic activity status. The proportion of employed males (92.5%) is higher than that of the females (89.7%). On the contrary, the proportions of the economically not active and unemployed females are higher than their male counterparts.

In terms of age, Table 4.2 indicates that the proportions of the employed population increase with increase in age from 17.2 percent for the 15-19 year age group to 89.0 percent for the 40-44 year age group. It then declines gradually to 32.2 percent for the 65 years and older age group. The proportion of the unemployed population for the 20-24 years age group is the highest (12.1%). It is also observed that the younger age groups and the aged have relatively high proportions of the economically not active population. The pattern of the activity status for males and females are similar.

Occupation

Occupation refers to the type of work the person is engaged in at the establishment where the person works. Table 4.3 reveals that, Service and sales workers in the Municipality recorded the highest percentage of 31.8 percent followed by Craft and related trades workers (25.4%). Females are more likely than males to be engaged in Service and sales work (51.5%) whereas males are more likely than females to be engaged as Craft and related trades workers (34.8%). These two leading occupational categories do not require highly skilled expertise and high educational training.

The proportions of the occupations which require high skills and long years of training such as professionals, managers and technicians accounted for 23.3 percent of the labour force. The proportion of males in the various occupational categories is higher than that of females, the only exceptions being service and sales workers, clerical support workers and elementary occupations.

Markets

Currently most residents travel to Madina and other markets to shop. Patronage of the Adentan Shopping Mall is low. The allocation of sheds at the upgraded Ogbojo market with facilities such as a lorry station, public toilet and urinal provides an opportunity for a vibrant market in the Municipality.

Financial Institutions

GCB, NIB, Prudential Bank, Beige Capital