Nigeria’s Working Poor Households: Characterizing Factors and Proposals for Social Welfare Programs

Abstract

The paper focuses on the increasing incidence of working poor families in Nigeria. Data from the ILO and NBS suggest that, not only is the number of working poor families in Nigeria increasing, despite governments efforts at increasing the number of jobs created. This point to the assertion that, removing working poor families out of poverty will not solely depend on their being employed. The paper uses data from Nigeria’s General Household Survey to characterize inducing factors of working poor families in Nigeria. The findings suggest that female – headed households, polygamous and divorced households, individuals who have never been married, size of employment establishment, and household expenditures, are determining factors of working poor families in Nigeria. We recommend the supplementing of working poor families incomes through Living wage and contributory savings, establishment of State Health Insurance Schemes, and affordable housing through a state guaranteed Mortgage Schemes.