Nigeria’s Unemployment Rate Rises To 5.3% In Q1

Nigeria’s unemployment rate increased to 5.3% in Q1 2024, from 5% in Q3 2023, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said in a recent data.

By place of residence, the rate was 6% in urban areas and 4.3% in rural areas for Q1 2024.

The unemployment rate among youth aged between 15-24 years was 8.4% in Q1 2024, a decrease of 0.2% compared to Q3 2023 (8.6%).

The percentage of youth not in education, employment, or training (NEET rate) was 14.4% in Q1 2024, according to the statistics bureau, showing a 0.7 percentage point increase from 13.7% in Q3 2023. The results also showed a higher NEET rate among females at 15.9%, compared to 13.0% for males in Q3 2023.

Nationally, 1.5% of employed Nigerians spent between 1-9 hours in a week, 4.8% spent between 10-19 hours in a week, approximately 25% worked between 20-39 hours, 22% between 40-48 hours, and the 46% worked 48hours and above in a week.