The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said that Nigeria’s unemployment rate rose to 5.3% in the first quarter of 2024, reflecting an increase from 5.0 recorded in the third quarter of 2023.

According to the NBS report, Abia, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and Rivers states recorded the highest unemployment rates in Nigeria in 2023.

Abia tops states with high unemployment rate

The report also stated that Abia State leads the chart with an unemployment rate of 18.7%, followed by the FCT with 14.1%, and Rivers with 13.4%.

The NBS report disclosed that about 362,000 people were unemployed in Abia State, despite a considerable number engaged in informal and self-employment sectors.

According to the report, Abia’s labour force includes over 1.25 million self-employed people and 1.51 million in informal employment, which heavily relies on those sectors as formal job opportunities shrink.

The FCT has about 150,000 unemployed people in the review period, with 258,000 in paid employment.

A larger part of FCT’s labour force is self-employed or engaged in informal activities, with 690,000 and 742,000 people in these categories.

Oil-rich rivers recorded 408,000 unemployed people.

Rivers State’s informal employment sector was particularly prominent, with 2.24 million people in informal jobs and 704,000 in paid employment.

Self-employment rate higher among women

The report stated that the proportion of self-employed people dropped from 86% in Q1 2023 to 84% in Q1 2024.

Investigations reveal a rise in the share of employed persons mainly engaged as employees between Q1 2024 and Q3 2023.

According to the report, the self-employment rate among females was 87.9%, while that among males was 79.9%.

The report also noted that rural areas in Nigeria face enormous challenges, with an unemployment rate of 6.8% relative to 3.5% in urban centres.

Employment rate is high among men

The difference shows the economic struggles in rural communities, where job creation and access to formal employment opportunities are limited.

Regarding gender, the data showed that unemployment remained higher among women at 6.0% relative to 4.7% among men, showing a growing gender gap in the labour market.

The NBS data stressed that Nigeria’s working-age population hit 116.6 million in 2023, accounting for 53.8% of the total population.

Females constitute a more significant share at 52%, while males account for 48%.

The cost of rice, other food items crash

Legit.ng earlier reported that data from the NBS shows that the headline inflation for July 2024 eased to 33.40% compared to the 34.19% recorded in June 2024.

The July inflation showed a decline of 0.8% points compared to the June figure.

The annual inflation rate stood at 9.32%, higher than the rate recorded in June, at 24.08%. This shows that the inflation rate rose in July compared to the same month in the previous year.