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UPDATE 1-Nigeria's unemployment rose to 33.3% in fourth quarter, stats office says

Published 15/03/2021, 16:58
Updated 15/03/2021, 17:00
© Reuters.

(Adds details)
By Alexis Akwagyiram
LAGOS, March 15 (Reuters) - A third of Nigeria's workers
were out of a job in the fourth quarter, the statistics office
said on Monday, a situation worsened by the novel coronavirus
pandemic.
The unemployment rate stood at 33.3% in the fourth quarter,
the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, up from 27.1% in
the second quarter, when the data was last published.
Unemployment of 23.1% was first reported for the third quarter
of 2018.
High unemployment has dogged Nigeria for decades as rapid
population growth outpaces economic growth in the midst of poor
infrastructure, holding back the distribution of wealth in
Africa's biggest economy.
Nigeria entered the pandemic without having fully recovered
from a 2016 recession that left more than 13 million people
unemployed. The economy exited recession in the fourth quarter,
but growth is fragile.
The pandemic disrupted economic activities and forced
companies to lay off staff.
Access Bank ACCESS.LG , Nigeria's largest lender, cut staff
salaries and sacked contract workers accounting for 75% of its
30,000 workforce to save costs, banking sources told
Reuters. Unemployment among young people aged 15-34 was the highest
at 42.5% in the fourth quarter. The data showed that in total,
46.48 million people were employed during the period, 30.57
million of them full time.
The fourth-quarter figure was 20.6% less than the number
employed in the second quarter, the NBS said, adding that more
than 12 million people did not do any work in the seven days
preceding the survey.

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