Latest data released by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that the oil-rich South-South region has the highest number of unemployed persons in the country. However, the northern part of the country has the highest rate of underemployment.
The statistics by the NBS represents data from its third quarter of 2018 and published on its website yesterday. The NBS data shows that North East, North Central and North West states have the highest underemployed working population in the third quarter of 2018.
Katsina, Jigawa, Kaduna, Yobe and Niger states recorded the highest underemployment rates during the review period, with 39.5%, 38.1%, 31.0%, 30.0% and 26.9% respectively. South West states reported relatively low underemployment rates, however, Taraba State had the lowest underemployment rate (9.0%). The NBS explained that the Labour force population covers all persons aged 15 to 64 years who are willing and able to work regardless of whether they have a job or not. The definition of unemployment, therefore, covers persons (aged 15–64) who during the reference period were currently available for work, actively seeking for work but were without work. The six states in the South South accounted for 5,385, 608 unemployed persons in the country with Rivers taking the highest with 1,673,991 persons. Between Q3 2017 and Q3 2018, only nine states recorded a reduction in their unemployment rates despite an increase in the national unemployment rate. They include Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ondo and Rivers.
The same states recorded reduction in their combined unemployment and underemployment rates. Akwa Ibom accounted for 1,357,754, while Bayelsa had 443,437; Cross River, 593,387; Delta, 791,285 and Edo 525,754. In Q3, 2018, Akwa Ibom State reported the highest unemployment rate (37.7%), followed by Rivers (36.4%), Bayelsa (32.6%), Cross River (30.6%), Delta (25.4%) and Edo (25.1%). For underemployment, Rivers State recorded the highest rate in South-South zone with 21.7%, followed by Akwa Ibom (20.1%), Cross River (19.9%), Edo (18.4%), Delta (17.9%) and Bayelsa (17.2%).
In the period under review, the state with the highest labour force population was Rivers with 4,601,135, while Bayelsa had the lowest figure with (1,363,014) In Q3 2018, Akwa Ibom State reported the highest unemployment rate (37.7%), followed by Rivers (36.4%), Bayelsa (32.6%), Abia (31.6%) and Borno (31.4%).
The top five states with the highest unemployed population are Rivers (1,673,991), Akwa Ibom (1,357,754), Kano (1,257,130), Lagos (1,088,352) and Kaduna with (940,480). Among these five states Lagos reported the lowest rate (14.6%) during the reference quarter. When unemployment and underemployment rates are taken together, Jigawa, Yobe, Rivers, Kaduna, Akwa Ibom, Borno and Kano reported the highest unemployed and underemployed rates in the third quarter of 2018, at 64.6%, 58.9%, 58.1%, 57.8%, 57.8%, 56.9% and 55.5% respectively, while Rivers, Kano, Akwa Ibom, Kaduna, Lagos, Borno, and Imo reported the highest numbers of combined unemployment and underemployment populations, altogether accounting for 35.2% of the total unemployed and underemployed population in Nigeria.
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