The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday reported that Nigeria’s unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in the second quarter of 2023, representing a marginal increase of 0.1% over the 4.1% rate recorded in the preceding quarter.
The Bureau, in the latest ‘Nigeria Labour Force Survey (NLFS) Q2 2023 report showed that the labour force participation rate among the working-age population remained high at 80.4% in the quarter while the employment-to-population ratio stood at 77.1%.
It further reported that the combined rate of unemployment and time-related underemployment as a share of the labour force population (LU2) was 15.5 per cent in Q2 2023.
The report further reflected that most workers (around 88.0%) were in self-employment in Q2 2023 with just 12% being in Wage employment in the period.
The Bureau clarified: “The rate of unemployment among persons with post-secondary education was 8 per cent in Q2 2023. The Unemployment rate among youth aged (15-24 years) in Q2 2023 was 7.2 per cent having been at 6.9 per cent in Q1 2023.”
A further analysis of the report showed that the unemployment rate in urban areas was 5.9% in Q2 2023, representing an increase from 5.4 per cent in Q1 202 just as time-related underemployment in Q2 2023 was 11.8%
The statistics agency disclosed that 4.8% of the working-age population engaged in subsistence agriculture.
It further stated: “Informal employment rate in Q2 2023 was 92.7 per cent. Percentage of youth Not in Employment, Education nor Training (NEET Rate) was 13.8 per cent.”
