KEY POINTS

• In Q2’24, unemployment rate dropped to 4.3 percent from 5.3 percent in Q1’24.
• NEET rates improved and youth unemployment stood at 6.5 percent (NEET = ‘not in education, employment or training’).
• Better job opportunities showed out in form of increasing 76.1 percent from employment to population ratio.

Economic data from Nigeria shows an improvement in the labor market as the unemployment rate fell to 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024 (Q2’24) from 5.3 per cent in Q1’24, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This is a 1.0 percentage point QoQ decline.

NBS Nigeria: Q2’24 Labor Force Survey showed the employment to population ratio increased 2.9 percentage points to 76.1 percent in Q2’24 from 73.2 percent Q1’24.

NEET rates and youth unemployment both decline

Youth unemployment fell from 8.4 percent in Q1’24 to 6.5 percent in Q2’24 due to improved job opportunities for Nigerians aged 15—24 years.

Likewise, the proportion of youth Not in Education Employment and Training (NEET) too declined to 12.5 percent in Q2’24 over the 14.4 percent in the previous quarter.

The survey showed a large gender divide in the rates of NEETs, as 14.3 percent of females were found to be NEETs compared to 10.9 percent of males.

Employment and educational attainment trends

Unemployment rates varied by educational attainment:
– Post-secondary education: 4.8 percent
– Upper secondary education: 8.5 percent
– Lower secondary education: 5.8% percent
– Primary education: 2.8 percent

The results show that employment prospects have increased at all education levels, likewise with aggregate labor market performance.