Unemployment at an all-time high in Nigeria

ACCORDING TO the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s unemployment rate is the highest that it has been in the last 13 years. The report stated that the number of unemployed people in the country has increased from 21.7 million in the second quarter of 2020, to 23.1 million people in the fourth quarter of last year. This makes it the second highest unemployment rate in the world. Nigeria’s unemployment rate has

more than quadrupled during the past few years due to the two recessions suffered under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. In January 2021, the country’s inflation rose to its highest level since 2008. This is suspected by analysts to have been triggered by the aftermath of the pandemic, dollar shortages and restrictions on imports of certain food items.

Later that month, Nigeria launched a programme to provide jobs for more than 750,000 young people. The rate of unemployment is expected to continue rising as population growth outpaces the country’s output expansion.