Number of unemployed Nigerians up by 33.3% in Q4 2020- NBS
The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that 23.18 million unemployed Nigerians as of the fourth quarter of 2020 which signifies a 33.3 per cent increase from 27.1 per cent recorded in Q2 2020.
KEY HIGHLIGHT FROM THE NBS LABOUR FORCE STATISTICS
According to the NBS in the Labour Force Statistics: Unemployment and underemployment report, the number of persons in the economically active or working-age population (15 – 64 years of age) during the reference period of the survey, Q4, 2020 was 122,049,400. This is 4.3 percent higher than the figure recorded in Q2, 2020, which was 116,871,186.
The number of people in the labour force (i.e., people between ages 15 -64, who are able and willing to work) was estimated to be 69,675,468. This was 13.22 percent less than the number of people in Q2, 2020. Of this number, those within the age bracket of 25-34 were highest, with 20,091,695 or 28.8 percent of the labour force.
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The unemployment rate during the reference period, Q4, 2020 was 33.3 percent, an increase from the 27.1 percent recorded in Q2, 2020. The underemployment rate declined from 28.6 percent in Q2, 2020 to 22.8 percent. The unemployment rate among rural dwellers was 34.5 percent, up from 28.2 percent in Q2, 2020, while urban dwellers reported a rate of 31.3 percent up from 26.4 percent. In the case of underemployment among rural dwellers, it declined to 26.9 percent from 31.5 percent, while the rate among urban dwellers decreased to 16.2 percent from 23.2 percent in Q2, 2020.
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The total number of people in employment (i.e., people with jobs) during the reference period was 46,488,079. Of this number, 30,572,440 were full-time employed (i.e., worked 40+ hours per week), while 15,915,639 were under-employed (i.e., working between 20-29 hours per week). This figure is 20.6 percent less than the people in employment in Q2, 2020.
For the period under review, Q4, 2020, the unemployment rate among young people (15- 34 years) was 42.5 percent up from 34.9 percent, while the rate of underemployment for the same age group declined to 21.0 percent from 28.2 percent in Q2, 2020. These rates were the highest when compared to other age groupings