The Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed on Friday that 21.7 million Nigerians were unemployed in the second quarter of 2020, translating to 27.1% unemployment rate. The last unemployment data was published in the third quarter of 2018 when unemployment stood at 23.1%.
The data shows that in Q2, unemployment was highest among the 18-34 years demographic, standing at 34.9%. The number of persons in the economically active or working age population (15-64 years of age) during the reference period of the survey was 116, 871,186, which was 1.2% higher than 115,492,969 in Q3 2018.
On the other hand, the number of persons in the labor force who are able and willing to work was estimated at 80,291, 894. Those within the age bracket of 25-34 were highest at 23,328,460, constituting 29.1% of the labor force.
The total number of people in employment (i.e. people with jobs) during the reference period was 58,527,276. Of this number, 35,585,274 were full-time employed (i.e. worked 40+ hours per week), while 22,942,003 were under-employed (i.e. working between 20-29 hours per week).
The unemployment rate among rural dwellers was 28%, up from 23.9% in Q3, 2018, while urban dwellers reported a rate of 25.4%, up from 21.2%.
The coronavirus pandemic has added to the country’s woes as it was yet to recover from the 2016 recession that had left more than 13 million citizens unemployed.
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