By Nigeria’s unemployment rate jumped from 27.1% in the second quarter of 2020 to 33.5% in fourth quarter of the same year, the Nigeria Bureau of Statics stated in a new report.
The statistics office placed underemployment rate at 22.8% in Q4 2020 (28.6% in Q2 2020) while the total of unemployment and underemployment was put at 40% in Q4 2020 (35.2% in Q2 2020).
The NBS report said, “The number of persons in the economically active or working age population (15 – 64 years of age) during the reference period of the survey, Q4, 2020 was 122,049,400.
“This is 4.3% higher than the figure recorded In Q2, 2020, which was 116.871,186.”
According to the NBS, the number of persons in the labour force, that is people within ages 15 -64 who are able and willing to work was placed at 69.675,468.
“The total number of people in employment (people with jobs during the reference period was 46.488.079. Of this number. 30.572.4.40 were full-time employed (i.e.. worked 404 hours per week), while 15,915,639 were under-employed (Le., working between 20-29 hours per week) this figure is 20.6% less than the people in employment in Q2.2020,” the report added.
Imo State reported the highest rate of unemployment with 56.6 percent, followed closely by Adamawa and Cross River with 54.9 percent and 53.7 percent, respectively.
