Unemployment in Africa’s largest economy had surged to the second highest on a global list of countries.
According to a report released by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday, Nigeria hit a new record high at 33.3 per cent in fourth quarter (Q4) 2020 from 27.1 recorded in second quarter (Q2) 2020 in the country.
The NBS stated in its report on ‘Labour force Statistics: Unemployment and underemployment report- Abridged labour force survey under COVID-19 (Q4, 2020)’ that the 33.3 per cent translates to 23.19 million unemployed people.
The oil producing country surpassed South Africa in unemployment rate and trails behind Namibia which leads with 33.4%.
It is worthwhile to note that Nigeria’s jobless rate has more than quadrupled over the last five years as the economy went through two recessions, casting a shadow over the efforts to implement policies to drive growth and create jobs by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
