August 14, 2020/Cordros Report

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released its Labour Force Statistics report for the first time since December 2018. The unemployment rate rose to 27.1% in Q2-20 (Q3-18: 23.1%) while the underemployment rate rose to 28.6% (Q3-18: 20.1%). Nigeria’s total labour force was estimated at 80.29 million people as at Q2-20 (Q3-18: 90.50 million).

Nigeria’s combined unemployment and underemployment rate as at Q2-20 stood at 55.7% (Q3-18: 43.2%). Between Q3-18 when the NBS last published the unemployment report and Q2-20, the rate of unemployment has grown by 4ppts.

The number of economically active persons (15-64 years of age) stood at 116.87 million, 1.2% higher than in Q3-18 (115.49 million). However, the number of persons in the labour force, i.e. those within the ages of 15-64 who are able and willing to work declined to 80.29 million (-11.3% vs Q3-18).

Notably, the unemployment rate among young people (15-34 years old) was 34.9% in Q2-20 (Q3-18: 29.7%) while the rate of underemployment for the same age group rose to 28.2% (Q3-18: 25.7%). These rates were the highest when compared to other age groupings.

By age grouping, those aged between 55-64 years old recorded an underemployment rate of 31.6%, the highest amongst the age groups. This was followed by those aged between 15-24-year with 30.5%, while those with the lowest underemployment rate were those aged between 25-34-year with 26.5%.

In Q2-20, the unemployment rate among rural dwellers was 28% (Q3-18: 23.9%), while urban dweller reported a rate of 25.4% (Q3-18: 21.2%). Rural underemployment rose to  31.5% from 22.8% in Q3-18, while urban underemployment rose to 23.2% from 13.7% in Q3-18.