The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed a concerning rise in Nigeria’s unemployment rate, surging from 4.2% in Q2 2023 to 5.0% in Q3 2023, as reported in the ‘Nigeria Labour Force Survey Q3 2023’ published on Monday.
The report highlights a notable decline in the labour force participation rate among the working-age population, dropping to 79.5% in Q3 2023 compared to 80.4% in the previous quarter.
Giving a breakdown of the statistics, the Bureau said, “The employment-to-population ratio was 75.6% in Q3 2023 with a decrease of 1.5% compared to a ratio of Q2 2023.
“The combined rate of unemployment and time-related underemployment as a share of the labour force population (LU2) increased to 17.3% in Q3 2023 from 15.5% in Q2 2023.
“About 87.3% of workers were self-employed in Q3 2023.
“The proportion of workers in Wage Employment in Q3 2023 was 12.7%.
“The unemployment rate increased significantly in Q3 2023 at 5.0%. This is an increase of 0.8% from Q2 2023.
“The rate of unemployment among persons with post-secondary education was 7.8% in Q3 2023.”
The NBS said unemployment rate among youth aged (15-24 years) was 8.6% in Q3 2023, recording an ncrease of 1.4% compared to Q2 2023.
“The unemployment rate in urban areas was 6.0% in Q3 2023, a slight increase of 0.1% from Q2 2023.
“Time-related underemployment in Q3 2023 was 12.3%, showing a slight increase of 0.5% from the rate recorded in Q2 2023. This shows an increase of 1.4% compared to the rate in Q4 2022.
“4.1% of the working-age population was in subsistence agriculture in Q3 2023.
Informal employment rate in Q3 2023 was 92.3%, while Q2 2023 was 92.7%.
“Percentage of youth Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET Rate) was 13.7% in Q3 2023,” the report added.
