Nigeria’s unemployment rate climbed to 5.3% in the first quarter of 2024, marking an increase of 1.2 percentage points from 4.1% in the same period last year, according to the latest Labour Force Survey released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report highlights a rise from 5.0% in the previous quarter, revealing gender disparities in unemployment, with men experiencing a rate of 4.3% compared to women at 6.2%. Urban areas reported a higher unemployment rate of 6.0%, while rural regions recorded 4.3%.
Youth unemployment saw a slight decline, dropping to 8.4% from 8.6% in Q3 2023. The data also revealed varying unemployment rates based on educational qualifications, with those holding postgraduate degrees at 2.0%, while post-secondary graduates faced 9.0%, secondary school graduates 6.9%, and primary education holders at 4.0%.
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Interestingly, underemployment decreased to 10.9% in Q1 2024, down from 12.2% a year earlier. This decline was reflected in the gender breakdown, where 8.5% of men and 12.5% of women were classified as underemployed. Underemployment rates were also higher in rural areas (11.8%) compared to urban settings (9.7%).
The report noted that 73.2% of Nigeria’s working-age population was employed in Q1 2024, a slight decline from 75.6% in Q3 2023. Self-employment rates fell to 84%, down from 86%, while employment as wage earners rose to 16.0%.
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