Unemployment Rises To 5.3% Amid Tinubu’s Economic Reforms

…92.7 Million Nigerians In Informal Employment – NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), on Tuesday, said the country’s unemployment rate rose marginally by 0.3 per cent to 5.3 per cent in Q1 2024 from the 5.0 per cent in Q3, 2023.

This is coming amid various economic reforms being implemented by the Bola Tinubu administration.

Recall that the administration had announced removal of fuel subsidy, floating of the Naira and grouping of electricity consumers into various bands, amongst others. These reforms were aimed at revitalising the country’s economy.

However, the NBS Nigeria Labour Force Survey (NLFS) noted that the male unemployment rose to 4.3 per cent while unemployment stood at 6.2 per cent during the period under review.

The labour force participation rate measures the proportion of a country’s working-age population which constitutes the labour force either employed or seeking employment.

Nigeria’s working-age population consists of persons aged 15 years and above, and according to the NBS, the current labour force participation rate stood at 77.3 per cent.

Unemployment as one of the components of labour underutilisation had the urban population by 6.0 against the rural areas at 4.3 per cent.

Further breakdown of the report showed that the youth unemployment rate was 8.4 per cent in Q1 2024, a decrease of 0.2 per cent from 8.6 per cent in Q3 2023.

Unemployment based on educational attainment shows that the unemployment rate among persons with post-graduate education was 2.0 per cent, while 9.0 per cent among those with post-secondary education.

The NBS said 6.9 per cent among those with secondary education, and 4.0 per cent among those with primary education in Q1 2024.

The statistics hub noted that the proportion of persons in self-employment declined from 86 per cent in Q1 2023 to 84 per cent in Q1 2024.

Adding that findings revealed an increase in the share of employed persons primarily engaged as employees between Q1 2024 16.0 per cent from Q3, 2023 12.7 per cent.

It said, “The self-employment rate among females was 87.9 per cent while males was 79.9 per cent. Disaggregation by place of residence, the rate of self-employed persons in rural areas was 91.9 per cent and 78.2 per cent in urban areas.

“The rate of informal employment in Nigeria remains high, increasing marginally from 92.3 per cent in Q3, 2023 to 92.7 per cent during the reference period.

“The Nigerian population engaged in informal employment was approximately 92.7 million. It is Worthy to note that females were more likely to be in informal employment than males.

“The rate of informal employment among rural dwellers was 97.6 per cent while the urban informality rate was 89.0 per cent.

“The survey results showed that the higher the level of education attained, the less likely that one will be engaged in informal employment. Employed population with no educational background were majorly involved in informal employment”.