Nigeria’s unemployment rate has risen significantly in the third quarter of 2023, increasing by 0.8 per cent over the second quarter of 2023.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its latest ‘Nigeria Labour Force Survey Q3 2023’ published on Monday, said the country’s unemployment rate rose sharply from 4.2 per cent in Q2 2023 to 5 per cent in Q3 2023.
It noted that the labour force participation rate among the working-age population dipped to 79.5 per cent in Q3 2023 from 80.4 per cent in Q2 2023.
In its breakdown of the statistics, the Bureau said, “The employment-to-population ratio was 75.6 per cent in Q3 2023 with a decrease of 1.5 per cent 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 per cent in Q3 2023 from 15.5 per cent in Q2 2023.
“About 87.3 per cent of workers were self-employed in Q3 2023, while the proportion of workers in Wage Employment in Q3 2023 was 12.7 per cent.
It also noted that the unemployment rate increased significantly in Q3 2023 at 5 per cent, 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 NBS said the unemployment rate among youth aged (15-24 years) was 8.6 per cent in Q3 2023, recording an increase of 1.4 per cent compared to Q2 2023.
“The unemployment rate in urban areas was 6 per cent in Q3 2023, a slight increase of 0.1 per cent from Q2 2023.
“Time-related underemployment in Q3 2023 was 12.3 per cent, 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.
It states that 4.1 per cent of the working-age population was in subsistence agriculture in Q3 2023 while informal employment rate in Q3 2023 was 92.3 per cent, and 92.7 per cent in Q2 2023.
“Percentage of youth Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET Rate) was 13.7 per cent in Q3 2023,” the report added.
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