ABUJA: Nigeria’s unemployment rate has worsened, rising to 14.2% in the Q1 of 2017. This represents a 0.4% increase from the last quarter according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The unemployment figure rose to 11.55 million from 11.09 in the last quarter of 2016.
However, working age population (persons within ages 15 and 64) increased from 108.03 million to 108.59 million. While the labor force population (i.e. those within the working age population willing, able and actively looking for work) increased to 81.15 million from 80.67 million. The report also revealed that the unemployment and under-employment rates were higher for women than men in the fourth quarter of 2016. During the quarter, 16.3 per cent of women in the labour force were unemployed, and a further 24.2 per cent of women in the labour force were under-employed.
The country, has ben struggling with a recession since September 2016, leading to several job loses. Last week, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo directed government agencies to reopen the N-Power job portal. N-Power is one of the initiatives of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Social Investment Programme designed to empower young Nigerians with life-long skills to find or create work. It is targeted at young Nigerians aged between 18 and 35 and is aimed at enlisting a total of 600,000 young Nigerians in phases, and under different sectors, in the largest capacity development and empowerment effort yet in the country.”
The government says the programme has so far empowered over 1.6 million Nigerians through its four components, namely; N-Power, National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer, and Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme. According to the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, the reopening of the portals is to allow Nigerian register for a new programme. The minister advised Nigerians to apply for the Federal Government’s National Social Investment Programme (N-SIP). The portal will be reopened on June 17, 2017.
