Nigeria’s unemployment rate hit 11.5 million

The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, says the number of unemployed Nigerians rose from 11.19 million as at the end of the third quarter of 2016 to 11.55 million in the fourth quarter of 2016.

This is contained in NBS unemployment report released on Monday night.

It noted that during the period, the unemployment rate rose from 13.9 per cent to 14.2 per cent.

The NBS report said the rate was highest for persons in the labour force between the ages of 15‐24 and 25‐34, which represents the youth population in Nigeria.

Unemployment rate was highest for those within the ages of 15 to 24 rising from 25 per cent to 25.2 per cent.

For the 25 to 34 age group, the unemployment rate, according to the NBS report increased from 15 per cent to 15.4 per cent.

The report added that unemployment and underemployment were higher for women than men in the fourth quarter of 2016.

While 16.3 per cent of women in the labour force were unemployed as at the end of the fourth quarter of 2016, 12. 3 per cent of males were unemployed.

“The economically active population increased from 108.03 million to 108.59 million, this represents a 0.5 percent increase over the previous quarter and a 3.4 per cent increase when compared to fourth quarter 2015,” NBS noted.