In response to the challenging economic conditions in Nigeria, the demand for sales and marketing professionals has surged by 15.9 percent from January to October 2023, compared to the same period last year, according to a comprehensive report by MyJobMag, a prominent recruitment agency in the country.

The report, which analyzed 62,729 job listings on its platform, highlighted that sales and marketing, finance, engineering, and ICT are the top fields for hiring in 2023, with sales and marketing alone accounting for over 15 percent of the total demand.

One significant factor driving the need for sales professionals is companies’ efforts to boost revenue amidst the country’s economic challenges. The report suggests that the growth of new small and medium-scale enterprises plays a pivotal role in this demand, requiring skilled sales professionals to help establish and expand these businesses.

While sales and marketing positions witness a significant uptick, other sectors such as human resources, driving, media, and administration have experienced a decline from 2022 to 2023, indicating a shift in the job market dynamics.

Sales and marketing professionals play a crucial role in executing creative campaigns aimed at increasing customer acquisition and driving revenue for organizations. The report’s breakdown reveals that sales executives, sales representatives, sales managers, medical sales representatives, and sales officers are the most in-demand roles in the sales sector for 2023.

Olamide Adeyeye, a Lagos-based human development researcher, sheds light on the economic tightness, stating, “The economy is very tight. And for businesses to stay afloat, they either need to increase revenue or reduce expenditure. Sales representatives are in the forefront of the first one,” he told BusinessDay.

The economic challenges in Nigeria have been exacerbated by recent policy decisions, such as the removal of the petrol subsidy and the lifting of currency controls by President Bola Tinubu in May and June, respectively. These actions aimed to save the country from economic distress but led to double-digit inflation, the highest in 18 years.

The removal of the petrol subsidy caused a threefold increase in petrol prices, impacting public transportation providers and contributing to a surge in transportation fares. Additionally, the naira’s depreciation against the dollar, combined with a 7.5 percent value-added tax on diesel imports (recently suspended in September), further escalated operating costs for businesses.

The National Bureau of Statistics reported a rise in the country’s inflation rate to 27.33 percent in October, reflecting the general increase in price levels. Business activity in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has contracted four times in 2023, according to data from the latest monthly PMI by Stanbic IBTC Bank, reaching its lowest index of 48.0 in November, down from 49.1 in the previous month.

As companies navigate these economic challenges, the demand for skilled sales and marketing professionals remains on the rise, highlighting their pivotal role in driving revenue and sustaining businesses in a complex economic landscape.