Matthew Onocheta
ABUJA – Nigeria’s unemployment rate decreased to 4.3 percent in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, the country’s statistics service said Monday.
The unemployment rate decreased compared to the 5.3 percent recorded in Q1 2024, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a report.
The NBS defined the unemployment rate as the share of the labour force (the combination of unemployed and employed people) who are not employed but actively searching and are available for work.
“The unemployment rate for Q2 2024 was 4.3%, showing an increase of 0.1 percentage point compared to the same period last year,” NBS said.
“The unemployment rate among males was 3.4% and 5.1% among females.
“By place of residence, the unemployment rate was 5.2% in urban areas and 2.8% in rural areas. Youth unemployment rate was 6.5% in Q2 2024, showing a decrease from 8.4% in Q1 2024.”
Based on educational attainment, the report said the unemployment rate among persons with post-secondary education was 4.8 percent; 8.5 percent among those with upper secondary education, 5.8 percent for those with lower secondary education, and 2.8 percent among those with primary education in Q2 2024.
According to NBS report, the employment-to-population ratio, which measures the number of employed workers against the total working-age population, increased to 76.1 percent in Q2 2024.
“In Q2 2024, 76.1% of Nigeria’s working-age population was employed, up from 73.1% in Q1 2024,” it said.
“Disaggregating by sex, the employment-to-population ratio was 77.2% for males and 75% for females in Q2 2024.
“Additionally, the employment-to-population ratio in urban areas was 73.2% and 80.8% in rural areas in Q2 2024.
“This is an increase in the ratio compared to the 69.5% and 78.9% in Q1 2023, respectively.”
The report further revealed that Nigeria’s labour market saw a notable shift as the proportion of self-employed individuals increased in Q2 2024.
“The proportion of persons in self-employment in Q2 2024 was 85.6%,” it said.
“Survey findings reveal a decrease in the share of employed persons primarily engaged as employees between Q2 2024 (14.4%) and Q1 2023 (16.0%).
“The self-employment rate among females was 88.3% while males was 82.2%.
“Disaggregation by place of residence, the rate of self-employed persons in rural areas was 94.3% and 79.7% in urban areas.”