According to an NBS report, the number of unemployed people in Nigeria rose from 7.51 million in October 2015 to 11.19 million at the end of September 2016.

According to the report, youths between the ages of 15-24 and 25-34 were most affected. The rate of unemployment for people from 15 to 24 rose from 17.8% in Q4 of 2015 to 25% at the end of September 2016. This rate for those from 25 to 34 rose from 10.8% to 15% over the same period. This signifies that the nation’s economy is still being dominated by the older generation.

In regards to employment, NBS’ document states that jobs increased from 55.21 million at the beginning of Q4 2015 to 69.47 million at September 2016 ending. “Given that the nature of rural jobs is largely menial and unskilled, such as in agriculture, unemployment is more of a concern in urban areas where more skilled labour is required. The unemployment rate in the urban areas was 18.3 percent compared to 11.8 percent in the rural areas, as the preference is more for formal white-collar jobs, which are located mostly in urban centres,” the report said.

Nigeria entered its first recession in 25 years in Q2 of 2016 driven by the sharp drop in crude prices which hit public finances and battered the naira currency as well as attacks on oil installations by militants in the Niger Delta oil-hub. This had a significant impact on employment in the country and things do not seem brighter as forecast by IMF projects economic growth at 0.8% this year.

Anita Fatunji