The unemployment rate in Nigeria fell to 4.1 percent in the first quarter of 2023, down from 5.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Mr Adeniran Adeyemi, the Federation’s Statistician General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), stated this on Thursday during the inauguration of the New Nigeria Labour Force Survey (NLFS) in Abuja.

According to Adeniran, the reduction in NLFS from 33.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020 to its current rate was due to a change in methodology, not poor government performance.

The new NLFS introduces a collection of labour force indicators aimed to provide unmatched insight into the dynamics of Nigeria’s workforce.

The NLFS was conducted by the NBS in collaboration with the World Bank (WB) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in response to the labour market dynamics

Adeniran said “let me at this point clearly state that this methodology review has nothing to do with whitewashing the image of any government or political party.

“This process is routine for any responsible statistical office, and we have no reason to continue to ignore the adoption of new methods, when the evidence clearly indicates the need for it.

“As a national statistical office, our responsibility is to provide government and all users with accurate data for evidence-based decision making, adhering to the highest possible standards, and our commitment in this regard is unwavering.”

According to Adeniran, the new method which indicates that not less than 73 percent of Nigerians are engaged in one form of work, recognises all forms of engagements from which individuals earn income.

He said using the new ILO definition, the survey showed that the unemployment rate for the fourth quarter of 2022 stood at 5.3 percent and 4.1 percent for the first quarter of 2023.

“This figure aligns perfectly with neighbouring countries around Nigeria. Ghana (3.9per cent), Niger (0.5 percent), Chad (1.4 percent), Cameroon (4.0per cent), Togo (4.1per cent), Benin Republic (1.7per cent) amongst others.

“In responding to the shifting global landscape and the ever-changing data ecosystem, it is imperative for us to continuously adapt the way in which we collect and analyse data.

“This is to ensure that we are producing data that reflects reality and the experiences of Nigerians.

“These changes also includes a revision to the design and methodology applied in the conduct of the actual survey.

“Which is the survey that produces commonly known headline Unemployment and Underemployment rates, as well as other labour market indicators that guide policymakers, researchers, and other users,” he said.

According to him, the results indicates a scarcity of Wage-employment, as the share of those employed in Wage-employment during the reference quarters was 13.4 per cent in Q4 2022 and 11.8 per cent in Q1 2023.

Adeniran said that the working age population which was defined previously as persons aged 15-64, is now defined as persons aged 15 and above.

He said this was a very important change particularly in the Nigerian context as it recognises the labour contributions of persons above the age of 64 which was not done previously.

The NBS boss said the unemployed appeared to be the most controversial amongst the changes announced under the review.

According to him, the new standard defines the unemployed as persons within the Labour force, who within the reference period did not work for pay or profit for a minimum of 1 hour.

“In the real sense, nobody works one hour a week and then sits down and does nothing else when there are opportunities for more work hours.

“The statistics show that only 7.1 percent of those working, work between 1 – 19 hours per week. So, one hour is just a benchmark and nothing more than that,” he said.

The survey revealed that about three-quarters of Nigerians in the working age population, 73.6 percent in Q4 2022 and 76.7 percent in Q1 2023 were engaged in some form of work for pay or profit in the quarters under review.

Earlier, the World Bank’s Country Director, Shubham Chaudhuri pledged the continued support of the bank to ensure robust, regular national LFS data for the country.

Chaudhuri said reliable data provided the government with knowledge about the nation’s welfare and ensured the right intervention and programs needed to address its challenges.

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, said data was key to national planning and development.

According to Bagudu, President Bola Tinubu believes in reliable data for planning and will support anything that will lead to the production of appropriate data.

“To create jobs for youths, we need this kind of data, a lot needs to be done to address the high rate of unemployment in the country. The President is desirous of reducing unemployment.

“Nigeria is one of the countries with absorptive capacity, so we need to provide a better environment and more incentives,” he said.

While commending the efforts of NBS and its partners in revising the methodology, Bagudu said the ministry would from 2024 use of the revised data more practically.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Tumala said labour statistics was one of the most important inputs to economic policy and business decisions.

Tumula said labour was the most important of the factors of production and determined both the quantity and quality of utility of other factors.

He also stressed the need for synergy with communication experts to ensure proper linkage and dissemination of data to the public.

Similarly, Prof. Mike Obadan, Non Executive Director and member MPC, CBN also reiterated the need for NBS to ensure robust strategy for communicating its survey findings to the public in simple language.