₦airaland Forum

NIGERIA’S latest unemployment data released by the National Bureau of Statistics flies in the face of lived realities with the potential to mislead economic planners. The NBS estimates that the unemployment rate declined to 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, down from 5.3 per cent in the previous quarter and 5.0 per cent in Q3 2023. This reflects improved labour conditions.

Self-employment remained dominant, accounting for 85.6 per cent of total employment, an increase from 84 per cent in the preceding quarter. Informal employment rose slightly to 93.0 per cent, highlighting the economy’s reliance on informal jobs.

The agency reported that the Labour Force Participation Rate rose to 79.5 per cent, up from 77.3 per cent in the previous quarter, highlighting increased workforce engagement while the Employment-to-Population Ratio showed significant improvement, climbing to 76.1 per cent in Q2 2024 up from 73.2 per cent in Q1 2024.

The dismissal of these figures in strong terms by the Nigeria Labour Congress and members of the Organised Private Sector is justified by worsening poverty and distress facing businesses.



The new methodology adopted in arriving at these numbers, albeit in line with International Labour Organisation recommendations, is questionable. It does not paint an accurate picture of the grim realities on the ground. That the NBS regards working one hour a week following its recent recalibration of labour statistics is a joke.

The NBS had defined unemployed persons as those not employed for up to 40 hours per week, those working for only 20-29 hours per week, actively searching for paid work or available to start paid work within the next two weeks. The change in calculation methodology, effective April 2023, considers anyone who worked at least one hour in the last seven days for pay or profit as employed.

Working age has been redefined as 15 years and above rather than 15 to 64 years. This means that an individual earning N1,000 for a once-off task within a week is considered employed. This is unrealistic. Employment is a means of livelihood meant for sustenance. This should be the minimum consideration when computing the figures.

It is incongruous that unemployment rates are seen as improving at a period when companies are downsizing and closing shop. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria reported that 767 manufacturers shut down in 2023 and 335 manufacturing companies became distressed.

The NLC insists that the data is inconsistent with the deteriorating economic landscape characterised by factory closures, dwindling manufacturing activity, and rising inventories. This can hardly be faulted.

The recalibration of the threshold for what constitutes employment to working one hour a week amounts to feel-good statistics. It has dramatically lowered unemployment numbers without reflecting significant improvements in job quality or income levels.

The dominance of informal employment points to the possibility that most of the jobs available do not even meet the minimum wage threshold. Some graduates in cities have turned to commercial motorcyclists after searching for jobs for years. This is a waste of potential.

GDP data indicate that some of the employment-generating sectors are slowing down with agriculture and manufacturing recording just 1.14 per cent and 0.92 per cent in the last quarter. Trade largely populated by informal sector players recorded 0.65 per cent GDP growth while real estate managed 0.68 per cent growth.

The question being asked is where are the new jobs being created?

There are arguments for a change in the parameters or the adoption of parallel methodologies for calculating unemployment to reflect the realities of meaningful earnings and general price levels. Employment that cannot deliver basic needs of food and shelter cannot be classified as such.


The government should focus on the quality of jobs available. This requires massive investments in critical infrastructure. The overall business environment needs to improve to create meaningful jobs.

helinues:
NL self is a testimony .

Just wait for the people the thread is all about to jump on my mentions and start sounding incoherently

Bobloco:
https://punchng.com/nbs-jobless-figures-defy-reality/

helinues:
NL self is a testimony .

Just wait for the people the thread is all about to jump on my mentions and start sounding incoherently

Oxb90:
And somebody once asked, 'na data we go chop'
Nigerian governments, both former and present get a1 for deception.

bennybuhari:
“’I cannot take anything back about Obi. I said Obi said he wants to move Nigeria back from consumption to production and I said that is not true. He cannot do it because his own business survives on consumption. Is that a lie? He has been an importer and I said he deals with cash and carry economics; container economics, imports”.

“All the goods that can be produced in Nigeria, Obi imports them in his supermarkets. That is consumption economics. That kind of person cannot tell you that he is moving you from consumption to production. He will then be committing self-economic suicide and Obi will not do that to himself”.

“So, Obi is deceiving everybody and I can’t take that back because that is true.

https://independent.ng/peter-obi-deceiving-everybody-i-wont-retract-my-statement-about-him-dele-alake/

ehikwe22:
NBS said the best way to combat unemployment is to redefine what it means to be unemployed.

In the new definition, even almajiri and street beggars are gainfully employed

Racoon:
Festus Keyamo Defends Tinubu From Drug Trafficking, Says Tinubu Mistakenly Shared Flats With Drug Lords

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo, has distanced the All Progressive Congress presidential candidata, Bola Tinubu, from being a drug baron who was involved in the traffic of narcotics in the United States.

Keyamo, who also doubles as APC Presidential Campaign spokesperson, noted that the former governor of Lagos State only shared a block of flat with drug barons about 30 years ago in the US.

His reaction is coming following documents of a Chicago District Court indicting and convicting Tinubu of drug dealings and money laundering in 1993.

The document which emerged online two days ago, described APC standard-bearer as a drug baron, adding that Tinubu entered a plea bargain, leading to the forfeiture of his assets to US authorities in 1993

It was also pointed out that Tinubu forfeited the sum of $460, 000 dollars in his bank account at First Heritage Bank to the US government.

Speaking on Wednesday on Channels TV, Mr Keyamo dismissed such claims, insisting that Tinubu was linked to drug peddlers who were his neighbours.

He said: “What happened was that Tinubu went to open an account. The address which he used in opening the account was the address used by these people. I think some blocks of flats. Maybe, he was happy to be in that block of flats too.

“So, they now link it that the other people they were investigating for narcotics are in the same address used by Asiwaju to open that account.’’

https://www.thenigerianvoice.com/?.
 
U.S. court judgement indicts Tinubu for drug trafficking

https://www.google.com/amp/s/businessday.ng/amp/news/article/u-s-court-judgement-indicts-tinubu-for-drug-trafficking/

US Court Releases Documents Linking Tinubu to Largescale Drug Peddling


https://fij.ng/article/us-court-releases-documents-linking-tinubu-to-largescale-drug-peddling/

Oxb90:
And somebody once asked, 'na data we go chop'
Nigerian governments, both former and present get a1 for deception.

lwisee:
... and Mr Oyedele was using the incorrect data gathered from NBS for his tax reform proposal.
What I detest so much about this tax reform bill was that the money will eventually end up in the pocket of few corrupt politicians, it will never benefit the masses.

I can only align with this tax reform bill if it includes a proper way of monitoring the use of the taxes collected and if it also includes tax refund as practice by other countries.

AustineE1:
The worst form deception is that of one self!This government is leaving in self denial.At a time many indigenous companies has closed down,the foreign ones left Nigeria and our markets are almost always sabotaged by state actors for one reason or the other,the value of naira at record low and a few whom are employed,can not make out a living from their salaries.The government even at the federal level systematically refused to increase salaries inspite of having announced increment of salaries several months ago,at the end of each month they do what they call 'tentative adjustment' to workers salaries and not the minimum wage announced,another scam.This has even increased the number of under employed persons,in a country where your 'take home pay',can not even take you home.Is a big shame.

helinues:
NL self is a testimony .

Just wait for the people the thread is all about to jump on my mentions and start sounding incoherently

Modified: We are yet to pack the oracle from the ground, it has started predicting..

Ritchiee:
Make Punch bring out their own make we see.
The methodology of ILO which NBS is using now is the globally accepted system.
Should Nigeria be using a methodology that is obsolete and unacceptable to the world as they have been doing before now?