According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria witnessed a notable surge in unemployment rate during the third quarter of 2023, with a 0.8% increase from the preceding quarter. The NBS’s ‘Nigeria Labour Force Survey Q3 2023’ report, released on Monday, revealed a sharp rise in the country’s unemployment rate, climbing from 4.2% in Q2 2023 to 5.0% in Q3 2023.
The report also highlighted a decline in the labour force participation rate among the working-age population, dropping to 79.5% in Q3 2023 compared to 80.4% in Q2 2023. Furthermore, the employment-to-population ratio experienced a decrease of 1.5% in Q3 2023, standing at 75.6% compared to the ratio in Q2 2023.
Regarding employment trends, the NBS noted that 87.3% of workers were self-employed in Q3 2023, while only 12.7% were engaged in wage employment during the same period. The combined rate of unemployment and time-related underemployment, as a share of the labour force population (LU2), surged to 17.3% in Q3 2023 from 15.5% in Q2 2023.
Furthermore, the unemployment rate among individuals with post-secondary education reached 7.8% in Q3 2023. Among youth aged 15-24 years, the unemployment rate stood at 8.6% in Q3 2023, marking a 1.4% increase from Q2 2023.
Unemployment rate
In urban areas, the unemployment rate edged up slightly to 6.0% in Q3 2023, representing a marginal increase of 0.1% from the previous quarter. These statistics underscore the persistent challenges facing Nigeria’s labour market, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to address the escalating unemployment crisis, particularly among youth and urban populations.
