Effect of Economic Recession on the Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Enugu State

The study evaluates the effect of economic recession on the performance of manufacturing firms in Enugu state with a view to ascertain the effect of recession on unemployment rate and the import and export of manufacturing firms. Survey method with a study sample of 334 selected from a population of 5960 staff of Innoson Plc, Emenite, 7UP and JUHEL companies using Freund and William’s formula was adopted. With structured questionnaire as instrument of data collection and chi-square (X2) as method of analysis, the 285 questionnaires completed and returned by respondents were analysed to test the two hypotheses formulated for the study. The result of the analysis reveals negative effect of economic recession on the unemployment rate in manufacturing firms in Enugu State, hence t(95, n=297)= 30.140, p<0.05. It further reveals that economic recession has a significant negative effect on the imports and exports of manufacturing firms also, hence t(95,n=297) = .811,p<0.05.The study concludes that the effect of economic recession on the economy is having negative effects on engagement levels and this is something every business should be concerned with. The researcher recommends a fair human resource practice in the use of available industrial resources.