By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday put the total of number of unemployed persons in Nigeria as at the third quarter of 2018 at 20.9 million.
In its Labour Force Statistics report released yesterday, the stats office disclosed that this figure rose to the present level from 17.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, with the unemployment rate increasing from 18.8 percent in Q3 2017 to 23.1 percent in Q3 2018.
According to the NBS data, of the 20.9 million persons classified as unemployed as at Q3 2018, a total of 11.1 million did some form of work but for too few hours a week (under 20 hours) to be officially classified as employed, while 9.7 million did absolutely nothing.
It further said of the 9.7 million unemployed that did absolutely nothing as at Q3 2018, 90.1 percent of them or 8.77 million were reported to be unemployed and doing nothing because they were first time job seekers and have never worked before.
On the other hand, 9.9 million or 0.9 percent of the 9.7 million that were unemployed and doing nothing at all reported they were unemployed and did nothing at all because they were previously employed but lost their jobs at some point in the past which is why they were unemployed.
In addition, of the 9.7 million that were unemployed and did nothing at all, 35.0 percent or 3.4 million have been unemployed and did nothing at all for less than a year, 17.2 percent or 1.6 million for a year, 15.7 percent or 1.5 million had been unemployed and did nothing for 2 years, and the remaining 32.1 percent or 3.1 million unemployed persons had been unemployed doing nothing for 3 and above years.
The report also said for the period under review, the unemployment rate for young people (15-35years) declined to 29.7 percent in Q3 2018 from 30.50 percent in Q2 2018. This was however an increase from 13.7 percent in Q3 2015, 19.1 percent in Q3 2016 and 25.5 percent in Q3 2017.
Underemployment within the youth population (15-35 years) during the same quarter declined from 27.2 percent in Q3 2017 to 25.7 percent in Q3 2018, while as of Q3 2018, 55.4 percent of young people (15-34) were either underemployed or unemployed (doing nothing) compared to 52.6 percent in the same period of the previous year.
During the quarter Q3 2018, 26.6 percent of women within the labour force (aged 16-64 and willing, able, and actively seeking work) were unemployed, compared with 20.3 percent of men within the same period.
In Q3 2018, 23.9 percent of rural and 21.2 percent of urban dwellers within the labour force were unemployed, indicating a decline in Urban Unemployment compared with the same period of 2017, and an increase in Rural Unemployment compared to Q3 2017.
In Q3 2018, 22.8 percent of rural residents within the labour force were underemployed (engaged in part time work for less than 20 hours a week); compared to 13.7 percent of urban residents within the same period.
Aduragbemi Omiyale