Unemployment Rate Dropped By 4.3% In Q2 – NBS

Nigeria’s unemployment rate has seen a significant drop to 4.3% in the second quarter of 2024, marking a positive shift in the country’s labor market.

This represents a decrease from the 5.3% recorded in the first quarter of 2024 and signals a steady recovery from the 5.0% in the third quarter of 2023, according to the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Monday.

The Labor Force Participation Rate rose to 79.5%, up from 77.3% in the previous quarter, indicating an increase in workforce engagement.

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The Employment-to-Population Ratio also saw improvement, climbing to 76.1% in Q2 2024 from 73.2% in Q1 2024, further highlighting a broader gainful employment trend.

The report also revealed that self-employment remained a dominant source of livelihood, accounting for 85.6% of total employment, up from 84% in the previous quarter.

Informal employment slightly increased to 93.0%, reinforcing the economy’s reliance on informal jobs.

Urban areas experienced a reduction in unemployment, dropping from 6.0% in Q1 to 5.2% in Q2 2024. In contrast, rural areas had a significantly lower unemployment rate of 2.8%, down from 4.3% in the previous quarter.

This disparity emphasises the continued dominance of agriculture and informal work in rural employment, as opposed to urban areas where formal and service-sector jobs are more prevalent.

In terms of youth employment, the youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24) fell to 6.5% from 8.4% in Q1 2024, signaling a positive trend among young workers.

However, gender disparities remain a challenge. Female unemployment stood at 5.1%, while male unemployment was notably lower at 3.4%. These figures suggest the need for targeted gender-inclusive policies to address the ongoing employment gap between men and women.

The report also highlighted a reduction in time-related underemployment, which dropped to 9.2% from 10.6% in the previous quarter. Labour underutilisation metrics, such as LU2 (unemployment and time-related underemployment), decreased from 15.3% to 13.0%.

Similarly, LU3 and LU4 indicators, which reflect potential labour force participation, saw declines to 5.9% and 14.5%, respectively.