A World Bank report has revealed that the unemployment rate in Nigeria rose five-fold in the last 10 years.
In its recent report, titled, ‘Of Roads Less Travelled: Assessing the Potential for Migration to Provide Overseas Jobs for Nigeria’s Youth’, the World Bank said the labour market has significantly worsened following the 2016 recession and COVID-19.
The bank said the significant increase in unemployment from 6.6 per cent in 2010 to 33.3 per cent at the end of 2020 had affected Nigerian youth in their quest to find gainful employment opportunities.
The bank said the acute jobless crises had also resulted in socio-economic challenges for the rising working-age population resulting in an increase in the number of citizens seeking asylum and refugee status in other countries.
“A combination of rising unemployment, booming demographics, and unfulfilled aspirations is increasing the pressure on young Nigerians to migrate internationally in search for gainful employment,” the report said.
It further indicated that with limited legal migration options, young Nigerians are increasingly choosing irregular alternatives to find better work opportunities overseas.
The World Bank report further showed that Nigeria’s working age population grew from 102 million to 122 million, growing at an average rate of approximately 3 per cent per year.
“The expanding working-age population combined with scarce domestic employment opportunities is creating high rates of unemployment, particularly for Nigeria’s youth,” the report added.
“Since 2018, the active labour force population has dramatically decreased to around 70 million—lower than the level in 2014— while the number of Nigerians in the working-age population but not active in the labour force has increased from 29 million to 52 million between 2014 and 2020.
“Similarly, Nigeria’s active labour force population, that is, those willing and able to work among the working-age population, grew from 73 million in 2014 to 90 million in 2018, adding 17.5 million new entrants to Nigeria’s active labour force.”
The bank advised Nigerian institutions to promote managed migration approaches that help create opportunities for prospective job seekers to find employment internationally.
It also added that Nigeria should implement and support schemes that increase the returns to human capital investments for youth.
