Unemployment figures in Nigeria rose to 33.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q4 2020) from 27.1 per cent in Q2 of the same year.
According to the NBS report released on Monday, 122,049,400 persons, aged between 15 and 64 (working-age population) were economically-active during the period under review (Q4 2020).
The figure is 4.3 per cent higher than the 116,871,186 – the figure recorded in Q2.
The NBS report said: “In line with its statutory mandate to provide government and policymakers with reliable and timely information, the National Bureau of Statistics routinely computes and disseminates the labour force statistics.
“These statistics presented in this report are generated from a nationwide socio-economic survey, which sampled thirty-three thousand three hundred households across the country, both in urban and rural areas.
“The last unemployment survey conducted was in the 2nd quarter of 2020, which produced an unemployment rate of 27.1% and an underemployment rate of 28.6%.
“Following the lifting of movement restrictions by government in the q4 2020, in line with set COVID-19 guidelines and protocols for interactions, the NBS conducted this round of the survey using the usual face-to-face interview for data collection.”
