The NBS said in its Nigeria Labour Force Survey for Q2 2023, released in Abuja yesterday that the unemployment rate was defined as the share of the labour force who were not employed but who were actively searching and were available for work.
In terms of educational attainment, the report said the rate of unemployment among persons with post-secondary education was 8.0 per cent in Q2 2023.
“Those with upper secondary education was 5.4 per cent, while those with lower secondary education was 3.7 per cent, 3.0 per cent for those with primary education and 2.5 per cent for those with no formal education.”
It said the unemployment rate among youth aged (15-24 years) in Q2 2023 was 7.2 per cent compared to the 6.9 per cent recorded in Q1 2023.
The report said the unemployment rate among men was 3.5 per cent and 5.9 per cent among women in Q2 2023.
“The unemployment rate in urban areas was 5.9 per cent in Q2 2023, which was an increase from the 5.4 per cent recorded in Q1 2023.
“While the unemployment rate in rural areas was 2.5 per cent in Q2 2023, which was a decline from the 2.9 per cent recorded in Q1 2023.”
The NBS said time-related underemployment in Q2 2023 was 11.8 per cent compared to 12.2 per cent recorded in Q1 2023.
It said time-related underemployment rate was the share of employed people who were working less than 40 hours per week, but who would be willing and available to work more.
“The share of employed men that were underemployed was 8.4 per cent while the share of employed women that were underemployed was 15.3 per cent in Q2 2023. The underemployment rate was 10.3 per cent in urban areas and 13.2 per cent in rural areas.”
The NBS said the share of employed persons aged 15 to 24 years that were underemployed was 19.3 per cent.
The report said the combined rate of unemployment and time-related underemployment as a share of the labour force population (LU2) was 15.5 per cent in Q2 2023.
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The NBS said the labour force participation rate among the working-age population in Nigeria was 80 per cent in Q2 2023 compared to 79.9 recorded in Q1 2023.
The report said the participation rate among men was 82.1 per cent while for women it was 78.8 per cent.
“The participation rate was 78.4 per cent in urban areas and 82.6 per cent in rural areas in Q2 2023.”
It said the employment-to-population ratio, which was the proportion of the working-age population that was employed was 77.1 per cent in Q2 2023.
The report said the employment-to-population ratio for men and women was 79.3 per cent and 74.9 per cent, respectively.
“The employment-to-population ratio in urban areas was 73.8 per cent compared to 80.5 per cent in rural areas in Q2 2023.”
* ‘88% of employed Nigerians primarily self-employed, only 12% engaged as employees’
The report said 88 per cent of employed Nigerians were primarily self-employed with the remaining 12.0 per cent engaged as employees (wage employment) in Q2 2023.
*As price of cooking gas increases by 5.82%, 5.78% for 5kg, 12.5kg respectively in one month
Similarly, the average price of 5kg of cooking gas also went up from N4,562.51 in October 2023 to N4,828.18 in November 2023, according to the bureau’s “Cooking Gas Price Watch’’ for November 2023.
The November price represents a 5.82 per cent increase, compared to what was obtained in October.
The NBS said the average price of 5kg of cooking gas increased on a year-on-year basis by 6.13 per cent from N4,549.14 recorded in November 2022 to N4,828.18 in November 2023.
On state profile analysis, the report showed that Benue recorded the highest average price at N5,466.67 for 5kg cooking gas, followed by Jigawa at N5,396.43, and Adamawa at N5,357.14.
It said on the other hand, Anambra recorded the lowest price at N3,985.29, followed by Imo and Abia at N4,052.78 and N4,100.00, respectively.
Analysis by zone showed that the North-East recorded the highest average retail price at N5,029.25 for 5kg cooking gas, followed by the North-West at N4,999.34.
“The South-East recorded the lowest average retail price at N4,083.52,” the NBS said.
Also, the NBS said the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cooking gas increased by 5.78 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N10,545.87 in October 2023 to N11,155.15 in November 2023.
The report said the average retail price for 12.5kg cooking gas rose by 9.57 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N10,180.88 recorded in November 2022 to N11,155.15 in November 2023.
State profile analysis showed that Delta recorded the highest average retail price of N12,875.00 for 12.5kg cooking gas, followed by Kogi at N12,615.83 and Cross River at N12,583.33.
On the other hand, the report showed that the lowest average price for 12.5kg of cooking gas was recorded in Zamfara at N9,724.75, followed by Gombe and Imo at N9,800.00 and N9,887.50, respectively.
