1.7 Million Nigerians became jobless within 9 months in 2016

The harsh economic situation in the country has thrown 1.7 million Nigerians into the job market in nine months, a report from the National Bureau of Statistics has

indicated.

The unemployment report covered January to September this year.

Specifically, the report showed that the number of unemployed Nigerians rose from 9.48 million at the beginning of the year to 11.19 million by September ending.

The report also indicated that while the number of those employed rose marginally from 69 million at the beginning of the year to 69.47 million by September ending, the labour force population rose by 2.18 million from 78.48 million to 80.66 million.

The report said that unemployment was highest for persons in the labour force between the ages of 15-24 and 25-34, representing the youth population in the labour force.

For instance, it said the unemployment rate was highest for those within the ages of 15 to 24, rising from 21.5 percent in the beginning of the year to 25 percent as of September ending this year.

For the 25 to 34 age group, the unemployment rate, according to the NBS report, increased from 12.9 per cent at the beginning of the year to 15 percent as of the end of September.

NBS noted that unemployment and underemployment were higher for women than men in the third quarter of 2016.

For instance, it said while 15.9 percent of women in the labour force were unemployed as of the third quarter ending this year, a further 22.9 per cent of women in the labour force were underemployed.

On the other hand, the report said 12 percent of males were unemployed in the third quarter of 2016, while 16.7 percent of males in the labour force were underemployed during the same period.

“Given that the nature of rural jobs is largely menial and unskilled, such as in agriculture and the likes, unemployment is more of a concern in urban areas where more skilled labour is required.

“The unemployment rate in the urban areas was 18.3 percent compared to 11.8 per cent in the rural areas, as the preference is more for formal white collar jobs, which are located mostly in urban centres,” the report said.

Meanwhile, financial experts have warned that the preference for imported items by many Nigerians, if left unchecked, could worsen the unemployment situation.