Findings by the National Bureau of Statistics, has revealed that only 12% of workers in Nigeria were in wage employment by the end of the second quarter of 2023.
The report, titled ‘Nigeria Labour Force Statistics Report Q2 2023,’ revealed that 88% of the country’s workforce are self-employed. Released on Thursday by the NBS, the report highlighted a total unemployment rate of 4.2% in Q2, 2023.
This rate represents the share of the labour force actively searching and available for work, but not employed.
It said, “The unemployment rate for Q2 2023 was 4.2 per cent, this is a marginal increase from 4.1 per cent recorded in Q1 2023. Unemployment rate by sex among men was 3.5 per cent and among women was 5.9 per cent in Q2 2023. Disaggregation by location, the unemployment rate was 5.9 per cent in urban areas and 2.5 per cent in rural areas.”
Focusing on young individuals, the NBS emphasized that the unemployment rate for 15-24-year-olds stood at 7.2% in Q2 2023. The NBS, following International Labour Organisation guidelines, improved its methodology for collecting labour market data through the Nigeria Labour Force Survey. The revised unemployment rate revealed that a significant number of Nigerians are involved in self-owned businesses or agricultural activities.
The national statistics body clarified that employment is broadly categorized into two groups: employees and the self-employed.
It detailed that individuals working for compensation, such as salaries or wages (including paid apprentices), fall under the category of employees.
Meanwhile, self-employed individuals encompass own-account workers, contributing family workers, and employers.
Commenting on this category, it said, “In Q2 2023, 88.0 per cent of employed Nigerians were primarily self-employed with the remaining 12.0 per cent being primarily engaged as employees.
“Disaggregation by sex, 85.2 per cent of employed men were self-employed compared to 91.0 per cent of employed women. Disaggregation by location, 80.5 per cent of employed people in urban areas were self-employed compared with 95.3 per cent of employed people in rural areas.”
It added, “The proportion of workers in Wage Employment in Q2 2023 was 12 per cent.” Informal employment in Nigeria is currently pegged at 92.7 per cent.
