Nigeria’s labour force and economic growth continues to be exacerbated by unemployment. In many cases, unemployment has been on a rapid incline over the years and the efforts of the government have mostly proven abortive. Ravaging corruption, poor educational qualities inflation and overpopulation have been pointed to as important causes of unemployment in the country. According to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s unemployment rate among youths aged 15-24 was at 53.4 percent and 37.2 percent for those aged from 25-34.
As a result of the huge demographic dividends, youth unemployment in the country has acutely increased overtime. With 18 presently the recognized working age in the country according to Worldometer, experts have predicted that the over 87 million youths below 15, who are soon to emerge into the working bracket will mount immense pressure on the economy. However, in spite of the huge rate of unemployment among youths, data is still very limited in this area.
Available data does not reflect the disguises of unemployment in Nigeria.
NBS survey shows Nigeria’s unemployment rate to be at 33.3 percent and that of unemployed youths, at 42.5 percent. This data points to numerous youths being insecure in the face of unemployment. Thus, there is a need for public and private organizations to resolutely work together towards curbing this issue. Importantly, the availability of this general data at the disposal of stakeholders could be a deterrent to the continuous growth that has caused immense concerns security and development experts and economists.
This number does so little in reflecting all the disguises of unemployment in Nigeria. The six geopolitical zones for instance, possess different scales of youth unemployment, as a result of the contrastive development, level of commercial activities and security situations within these zones. This population includes a wide range of men and women, who as a result of social expectations, adopt unfavorable paradigms to cope with the unemployment problem. Also, a lot of unemployed youths indulge in unsustainable eating strategies that pose imminent harm to the human capital development and economic sustainability of the country.
Jobberman’s report aimed at closing the unemployment gap in the country.
“How Young People Survive Without Jobs” according to Jobberman is aimed at closing the unemployment gap in Nigeria, as well as providing an efficient regional insight into the issue. The report studies the framework of youth unemployment like gender and regional peculiarities, duration of unemployment and survival schemes. This survey brings to the spotlight, the micro angles of this macro issue, all of which need special actions by the stakeholders. Recent data, for instance, indicates that at least 78 percent of Nigerian youths have been unemployed for at least one year. In zones like the Northeast and Northwest, the unemployment duration is immensely concerning. Both regions record about 30 percent and 27 percent unemployed youths with an unemployment duration of five years respectively.
Though, the government support distribution for Northeast and Southwest are 14.71 percent and 17.65 percent respectively, the unemployment duration in the Northeast region still weighs longer than that of the Southwest. According to statistics, 62.41 percent of youths in the Northeast remain unemployed for over three years, compared to the 25.88 percent in the Southwest. This shows that youth in the Northeast need employment support and initiatives, giving a necessary reason for a reconsideration of the government safety net distribution per region. The report also revealed the spending patterns of unemployed youths, where 84 percent of funds sourced from friends and family are spent on food and 10.19 percent, on internet services. This means unemployed youths are unable to invest, as they can only satisfy basic needs. Thus, stakeholders should help develop their human capital, to improve their productivity long-term.
Youth unemployment in Nigeria requires a multifaceted strategy.
Gender-less youth unemployment also possess a number of micro issues. Men, for instance, have a longer unemployment duration compared to women, even though the labour market has a larger representation of men than women. Only 33.44 percent of women engage in menial and transient jobs, compared to 66.56 percent of men. Also, while 94.12 percent of men directly benefit from government support, only 5.88 percent of women benefit from this support. Thus, where women require inclusion, men require a support system to help reduce the unemployment duration. However, public and private institutions must work collaboratively to curb youth unemployment in the country. Youth unemployment requires a multifaceted strategy to curb this multifaceted problem.
Related Link
World Bank: Website
