The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported that Nigeria’s unemployment rate increased significantly to 5.0% in the third quarter of 2023, reflecting a rise of 0.8% from the second quarter of the same year. This information was disclosed in the “Nigeria Labour Force Statistics Report Q3 2023” released by the NBS.
The data indicated that the unemployment rate among individuals with post-secondary education stood at 7.8% during Q3 2023. Additionally, the youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24) reached 8.6% in the same period, marking an increase of 1.4% compared to the previous quarter.
In urban areas, the unemployment rate rose slightly to 6.0% in Q3 2023, a 0.1% uptick from Q2 2023. The report also highlighted that time-related underemployment was 12.3% in Q3 2023, showing a slight increase of 0.5% from the second quarter of the year.
The data further revealed that 4.1% of the working-age population engaged in subsistence agriculture during the period under review. The rise in unemployment raises concerns about the economic challenges facing Nigeria and the need for targeted interventions to address the employment situation in the country.
