A statement released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday indicated Nigeria’s unemployment rate is now at 27.1% after a 20-month interval. In the second quarter of 2018, the nation’s employment rate was 23.1%. Its report titled ‘Labour Force Statistics: Unemployment and Underemployment’ shows that unemployment among persons between age 15-34 years rose to 34.9% from 29.7% while underemployment for the same age group rose from 28.2% from the 25.7% in Q3 2018.
Why does this matter?
Unemployment is a major socio-economic problem of Nigeria and often what confronts every Nigerian youth. Any country striving towards development must fight the frequency of unemployment to the barest minimum. It also highlights the extent of the country’s economic problems under the Buhari administration and the extent of work that will need to be done to reverse the trend.