Youth unemployment in Nigeria rises higher 8.6% in Q3 2023—NBS

National Bureau of Statistics NBS, has said that in the third quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate significantly surged to 5.0% from 4.2% in the previous quarter, indicating a marked increase, with disparities evident across genders, geographical locations, and educational backgrounds in Nigeria. NBS report said “Specifically, unemployment was higher among women at 6.0 per cent compared to men at 4.0 per cent. Geographically, urban areas faced a higher unemployment rate of 6.0 per cent versus 4.0 per cent in rural areas, and the youth unemployment rate was particularly high at 8.6 per cent. In terms of educational attainment, those with post-secondary education experienced the highest unemployment rate at 7.8%, while it was lowest at 2.7% for those without any formal education. 

“Furthermore, the third quarter also saw a slight decrease in informal employment to 92.3 per cent, with a noticeable gender disparity as women were more affected than men. Rural areas had a higher prevalence of informal employment at 97.2 per cent compared to 87.5 per cent in urban areas, with females disproportionately represented. The labour force participation rate among the working-age population declined to 79.5% in Q3 2023 compared to 80.4% in Q2 2023. 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 per cent nThe unemployment rate increased significantly in Q3 2023 at 5.0 per cent. This is an increase of 0.8  per cent from Q2 2023. The rate of unemployment among persons with post-secondary education was 7.8 per cent in Q3 2023 The unemployment rate among youth aged (15-24 years) was 8.6 per cent in Q3 2023. Increase of 1.4 per cent compared to Q2 2023. The unemployment rate in urban areas was 6.0% in Q3 2023, a slight increase of 0.1 per cent  from Q2 2023. Time-related underemployment in Q3 2023 was 12.3%, showing a slight increase of 0.5 per cent from the rate recorded in Q2 2023. This shows an increase of 1.4 per cent 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 per cent, while Q2 2023 was 92.7 per cent.  Percentage of youth Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET Rate) was 13.7 per cent in Q3 2023.