Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has been ranked third on a list of countries with the highest unemployment rate globally. The country’s unemployment rate hit a new record high at 33.3 per cent in the fourth quarter (Q4) 2020 from 27.1 recorded in the second quarter (Q2) 2020. The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Monday, released the Q4 unemployment report and it indicated that no fewer than 23.18 million Nigerians either did nothing or worked for less than 20 hours a week, making them unemployed during the fourth quarter (Q4) 2020.
According to NBS, the unemployment rate decreased from 28.6 per cent to 22.8 per cent, while a combination of both the unemployment and underemployed rate for the reference period gave a figure of 56.1 per cent.
A state by state breakdown shows that Imo (56.6%) had the highest unemployment rate, followed by Adamawa (54.9%), Cross River (53.7%), Taraba (52.6%) and Akwa Ibom (51.0%). Imo, came next and the worst performing states are in the South-south and North East, suggesting that oil revenue has not had the multiplier effect of leading to inclusive growth, creating jobs and lifting people out of poverty. Osun state had the lowest unemployment rate (11.7%).
Unemployment amplified across all age brackets but youths between the ages of 15-24 years were particularly hard hit, with the rate dropping by (53.4%). Unemployment especially among the youth in Nigeria is a ticking time bomb and a recruitment ground for all sorts of criminality including banditry, kidnappers, and armed robberies, owing to the widening disparity between the rich and poor. The alarmingly high unemployment rate among the youths has major social and economic consequences. It slows down economic growth, contributes to crime rates, and has an adverse effect on both physical and mental health.
