Nigeria’s workforce, 25-34 recorded the highest unemployment rate among the age group classification by NBS with 7 million persons unemployed, higher than the 6 million people recorded in Q3 of 2018.
The number of persons in the labour force, people within ages 15-64, who are able and willing to work was estimated to be about 80 million of which those within the age bracket of 25-34 were highest, 29.1% of the labour force.
According to data from the NBS, the total labour force who are youths, between the age of 15-34 declined from 44.2 million in Q3 2018 to 40 million in 2020.
As at Q3 2018, the calculated youth unemployment rate was 13.9 million, representing an increase from the 13.1 million that was recorded in 2020.
The report shows that the highest employed persons fall within the age group of 25-34 and 35-44 with 16.1 million and 16 million people employed in the age groups respectively.
The age group between 45-54 records the next highest rate of unemployment with about 10.8 million persons employed. The age group between 15-24 and 55-64 has about 9.8 persons and 5.6 persons employed respectively.
The labour force between the age group of 15-24 and 25-34 records the highest number of unemployed persons of about 6.8 million and 7.1 million respectively.
The least unemployment was recorded by the age groups within 45-54 and 55-64 with 4 million and 2 million unemployed respectively.
The youth underemployment rose from 25.7 percent in the Q3 of 2018 to 28.2 percent in Q2 2020 while underemployment within the age group of 25-34 also increased from 20.7 percent in Q3 2018 to 26.5 percent in Q2 2020.
