Jobless rate among Nigerian youths rises to 8.6%

 

The jobless rate among young Nigerians aged 15-24 rose to 8.6 per cent from 7.2 per cent. Unemployment in the urban areas also rose marginally to 6 per cent from 5.9 per cent in the previous quarter.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation of more than 200 million people, has been dogged by high unemployment for decades due to a rapid population rise that has outpaced economic growth.

President Bola Tinubu has defended his two biggest reforms - the scrapping of the subsidy and foreign exchange controls - saying although this would lead to hardship in the short term, they are necessary to attract investment and boost government finances.

The unemployment rate rose from 4.2 per cent in the previous quarter, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics late on Monday.

But the jobless rate has crashed from a record 33 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020 after the government revised the methodology for computing the data in early 2023.

Still, underemployment persists with 87 per cent self-employed. Only 12.7 per cent were in wage employment during the period.

The informal employment rate, which measures the proportion of workers in the grey economy, was little changed at 92.3 per cent according to the NBS, while the workforce participation also fell slightly to 79.5 per cent from 80.4 per cent in the second quarter.