According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s unemployment rate decreased from 5.3 percent to 4.1 percent in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023.
Recall that in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2020, the agency estimated that the nation’s jobless rate was 33.3 percent.
According to a statement issued by NBS on Thursday, the most recent unemployment report used a new approach and provided a thorough examination of the labor market.
The 13th ICLS, which was created and adopted in 1982 at the International Conference of Labour Statisticians, was used to conduct the most recent survey, according to NBS.
The Chief Executive Officer of NBS, Semiu Adeniran, stated that the new number aligns Nigeria’s Labour Survey with worldwide standards during the Thursday launch of the new methodology in Abuja.
He said that the study, which has been approved by 26 African nations, was carried out in association with the World Bank and the International Labor Organization.
Additionally, he stated that the rate for the fourth quarter of 2022 was 5.3%.
Adeniran emphasized that the new figure was not to give the new government a good face but to bring up the method used to conduct labor surveys in the nation. The new methodology considered employed persons as those who engaged in at least one hour of work during the last seven days the survey was conducted, he said.