Nigeria’s unemployment rate has declined to 4.3% in the second quarter of 2024, indicating improved labour market conditions, according to the latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
This marks a decrease from the 5.3% recorded in Q1 2024 and a gradual recovery from the 5.0% in Q3 2023.
The Labour Force Participation Rate rose to 79.5%, up from 77.3% in the previous quarter, highlighting increased workforce engagement.
The Employment-to-Population Ratio also showed significant improvement, climbing to 76.1% in Q2 2024 from 73.2% in Q1 2024.
Self-employment remained dominant, accounting for 85.6% of total employment, an increase from 84% in the preceding quarter. Informal employment also rose slightly to 93.0%, highlighting the economy’s reliance on informal jobs.
Urban unemployment stood at 5.2%, a reduction from 6.0% in Q1 2024. However, rural areas recorded an even lower unemployment rate of 2.8%, compared to 4.3% in the previous quarter.
The youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24) dropped significantly to 6.5%, compared to 8.4% in Q1 2024. The report also revealed gender disparities, with the unemployment rate for females at 5.1%, compared to 3.4% for males.
Time-related underemployment, which measures workers seeking additional hours, dropped to 9.2% in Q2 2024 from 10.6% in Q1.
Labour underutilisation metrics also improved, with LU2 (unemployment and time-related underemployment) decreasing to 13.0% from 15.3% in the previous quarter.
