Business

Nigeria’s Job Market: Unemployment Ticks Up, Self-Employment Dominates

Nigeria’s unemployment rate has seen a marginal increase to 5.3% in the first quarter of 2024, up from 5.0% in the third quarter of 2023, according to the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics. This rise is more pronounced among females, with an unemployment rate of 6.2% compared to 4.3% for males.

Unemployment Rates by Area

  • Urban areas: remained unchanged at 6.0%
  • Rural areas: stood at 4.3%

Youth Unemployment

  • Decreased to 8.4% in Q1 2024 from 8.6% in Q3 2023
  • However, the percentage of youths not in education, employment, or training rose to 14.4%

Self-Employment

  • Remained high at 84%, with a decline from 86% in Q1 2023
  • Rural areas: 91.9% self-employment rate
  • Urban areas: 78.2% self-employment rate

Labour Force Participation

  • Dropped to 77.3% in Q1 2024 from 79.5% in Q3 2023
  • Higher participation rate in rural areas: 82.5%
  • Lower participation rate in urban areas: 74%

Employment-to-Population Ratio

  • Declined to 73.2% in Q1 2024 from 75.6% in Q3 2023
  • Urban areas: dropped to 69.5% from 71.1%
  • Rural areas: fell to 78.9% from 80.7%

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