Unemployment Rate in Nigeria Drops in Q2 2024, Stats Show

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that Nigeria’s unemployment rate reduced in the second quarter of 2024 (Q2 2024).

This was disclosed by the Statistician General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adeniran, during a briefing on the Nigerian Labour Force Survey (NLFS) Second Quarter (Q2) 2024.

According to the survey, unemployment dropped to 4.3% from the previous 5.3% recorded in the first quarter (Q1, 2024) of the year.

“The unemployment rate during the period was 4.3 per cent, which shows a decrease compared to the rate recorded in Q1 2024 (5.3 per cent),” the statement read.

The unemployment rate among persons with upper-secondary education was 8.5 per cent in Q2 2024, while the unemployment rate among youths aged (15-24 and 25-34 years) in Q2 2024 was 6.5 per cent each and the highest, Adeniran revealed.

He explained that while urban unemployment stood at  6% in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, it dropped to 5.2% in Q2 2024.

Unemployment in the rural areas was 2.8%, down from the 4.3% recorded in Q1 2024, he stated.

Wage employment stood at 14.4% in Q2 2024, a slight decline from the 16 per cent recorded in Q1 2024.

The underemployment rate, he explained, is the share of employed people working less than 40 hours per week and declaring themselves willing and available to do more hours of work.

This category, in Q2 2024, was 9.2%, a drop from the 10.6 per cent recorded in Q1 2024.

The labour force participation rate was 79.5% in Q2 2024, higher than that recorded in Q1 2024 which was 77.3 per cent.

Men engaged in the labour force under the time in review stood at 79.9 per cent, while women stood at 79.1 per cent.

Rural areas recorded a higher participation rate, 83.2 per cent, while the urban areas recorded 77.2 per cent, he emphasized.