Ten states with the highest unemployment rate in Nigeria in 2023 

In 2023, the unemployment rate in the country stood at 5.4% according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Labour Force Survey for the year.

When analysed according to gender, unemployment among women was higher at 6.0% while that of male stood at 4.7%.

Also, the unemployment rate in urban centres was higher at 3.5% compared to residents in rural settlements where unemployment rate is 6.8%.

The survey revealed that Nigeria’s working-age population in 2023 was 116,604,860, accounting for 53.8% of the total population. Females made up a larger share of the working-age population at 52%, compared to 48% for males.

It is important to highlight that the working-age population represents a portion of the total population eligible for work in the country.

Below are the ten states with the highest unemployment rate in Nigeria according to the study published by the NBS

10. Borno state:  the unemployment rate in this country in 2023 stood at 7.3% positioning it in 10th place among states with the highest unemployment rate in the country. The total number of unemployed people in the state was just over 144thousand by the end of the year

9. Plateau state: this North central state placed 9th among the states with the highest unemployment rate in the country with 7.4% unemployment rate.

Around 151 thousand people in the state were unemployed in the year 2023. Just over 388 thousand people in the state were in waged employment while 1.52 million people were self-employed. Furthermore, over 1.8 million people in the state were in informal employment.

8. Kano state:  the centre of commerce had an unemployment rate of 7.6% in 2023 with the total number of unemployed persons at 477 thousand. The number of people in waged employment was 510 thousand in the year.

Almost 5 million people in Kano were reported as self-employed while 5.19 million people were reported as being in informal employment.

7. Delta state: unemployment rate in this state in 2023 stood at 8.2% in the year under review as 178 thousand persons reported being unemployed. The number of people in waged employment in the state stood at 437 thousand while those in self-employment was 1.56 million. Also, 1.82 million people were reported as being in informal employment.

6. Ogun state: the Gateway state has an unemployment rate of 8.8% in 2023 with over 260,000 people unemployed during the period.

The total number of people in wage employment in this state stood at over 530 thousand while the population of self-employed people was 2.18 million. The population of those in informal employment in the state was 2.23 million.

5. Imo state: the unemployment rate in this Southeast state in 2023 stood at 10.9% with around 241 thousand people unemployed.

Furthermore, the report noted that the state had 453 thousand people in wage employment and 1.56 million self-employed people. The number of people in informal employment in the state was 1.89 million people.

4. Gombe state: the unemployment rate in the state in 2023 was 11.2% with over 148 thousand unemployed people. Those in waged employment were just over 112 thousand while 1.05 million and 1.01 million people were in self-employment and informal employment respectively.

3. Rivers state: with an unemployment rate of 13.4%, Rivers is the state with the third highest unemployment rate in the country. Total number of unemployed people were 408 thousand while those in wage employment stood at 704 thousand. Those in informal employment were a whopping 2.24 million in the state.

2. FCT (Abuja): the nation’s capital city had the second highest unemployment rate in the country at 14.1%. Total number of unemployed people in Abuja in 2023 was 150 thousand while those in wage employment was 258 thousand.

The number of people in self-employment and informal employment were 690 thousand and 724 thousand respectively.

1. Abia state: the God’s own state had the highest unemployment rate in the country at 18.7% with about 362 thousand people unemployed in 2023. The total number of people in waged employment in the state stood at 298 thousand while a whopping 1.25 million people were self-employed.

According to the report, over 1.509 million people in the state were engaged in informal employment.