(Adds quote, comment about job creation)
LAGOS, March 23 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund
is likely to revise higher its growth forecast for Nigeria, its
mission chief said on Tuesday.
Jesmin Rahman, the IMF mission chief to Nigeria, said the
country's surprise exit from recession in the fourth quarter
would aid its economic outlook for the coming year.
"It wasn't as bad as we expected," Rahman said of the
country's 2020 recession.
Rahman, speaking at a virtual event hosted by the American
Business Council, did not put a figure on the 2021 growth
overall, but said the medium-term growth rate could return to
2.5%. The IMF previously projected 1.5% growth for 2021.
"We will see recovery and we will see real output going back
to the pre-pandemic level...sometime next year," she said.
Rahman warned that the failure thus far to make certain
structural changes, such as exchange rate reforms, would hinder
economic growth and keep the economy from creating enough jobs
to match the rising population and increase living standards.
Nigeria's unemployment hit 33.3% in the fourth quarter, and
food inflation reached a four-year peak above 20% in February.