In the fourth quarter of 2020, 38.5 percent of the labor force aged 15 to 24 years in Nigeria was unemployed, showing an increase compared to the previous quarters. In the same period of time, the total unemployment rate in the country amounted to 17.5 percent. This figure was projected to increase further in the next years.
The NEW Nigeria methodology defines as unemployed labor force who did not work at all or worked for less than 20 hours a week. The international definition, instead, include people aged 15 years to 64 years old who were available for work, actively seeking work, but were unable to find work.
Youth unemployment rate in Nigeria in selected quarters between the 1st quarter of 2018 and the 4th quarter of 2020
Characteristic
NEW Nigeria methodology
International methodology
Q4 2020
53.4%
38.5%
Q2 2020
40.8%
22.3%
Q3 2018
36.5%
16.5%
Q1 2018
38%
16.4%
Created with Highcharts 7.2.2Share of unemployed individualsNEW Nigeria methodologyInternational methodologyQ1 2018Q3 2018Q2 2020Q4 2020
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%
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The source adds the following information: "[...] all countries however use the International Labour Organization's (ILO) definition, or a variant of it to compute unemployment. The ILO definition covers persons aged 15–64 who during the reference period (which is usually the week preceding the time the survey is administered) were available for work, actively seeking work, but were unable to find work.
The Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics, like most countries in the world, uses a variant of the ILO definition such that the unemployment is the proportion of those in the labour force (not in the entire economic active population, nor the entire Nigerian population) who were actively looking for work but could not find work for at least 20 hours during the reference period to the total currently active (labour force) population. Accordingly, you are unemployed if you did absolutely nothing at all or did something but for less than 20 hours during the reference week.
Hence, the unemployment rate is calculated as a percentage of the number of unemployed persons in the labour force:
Unemployment Rate=100 × (Unemployed Population)/(Labor Force Population)"
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NBS (Nigeria). (March 16, 2021). Youth unemployment rate in Nigeria in selected quarters between the 1st quarter of 2018 and the 4th quarter of 2020 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved February 18, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1119403/youth-unemployment-rate-in-nigeria-by-quarter/
NBS (Nigeria). "Youth unemployment rate in Nigeria in selected quarters between the 1st quarter of 2018 and the 4th quarter of 2020." Chart. March 16, 2021. Statista. Accessed February 18, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1119403/youth-unemployment-rate-in-nigeria-by-quarter/
NBS (Nigeria). (2021). Youth unemployment rate in Nigeria in selected quarters between the 1st quarter of 2018 and the 4th quarter of 2020. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: February 18, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1119403/youth-unemployment-rate-in-nigeria-by-quarter/
NBS (Nigeria). "Youth Unemployment Rate in Nigeria in Selected Quarters between The 1st Quarter of 2018 and The 4th Quarter of 2020." Statista, Statista Inc., 16 Mar 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1119403/youth-unemployment-rate-in-nigeria-by-quarter/
NBS (Nigeria), Youth unemployment rate in Nigeria in selected quarters between the 1st quarter of 2018 and the 4th quarter of 2020 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1119403/youth-unemployment-rate-in-nigeria-by-quarter/ (last visited February 18, 2025)
Youth unemployment rate in Nigeria in selected quarters between the 1st quarter of 2018 and the 4th quarter of 2020 [Graph], NBS (Nigeria), March 16, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1119403/youth-unemployment-rate-in-nigeria-by-quarter/
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