National Bureau of Statistics says Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.1 percent in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, from 5.3 percent recorded in the previous quarter.
NBS had pegged the country’s unemployment rate at 33.3 percent in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2020.
The Bureau, in a statement on Thursday, said the latest unemployment report adopted a new methodology and presented an in-depth analysis of the labour market.
NBS said the last survey was conducted using the 13th ICLS, which was birthed and adopted in 1982 at the International Conference of Labour Statisticians.
Chief Executive Officer of NBS, Semiu Adeniran, while speaking during the launch of the new methodology in Abuja on Thursday, said the new figure brings Nigeria’s Labour Survey in line with international standard.
He said the survey was conducted in collaboration with the World Bank and the International Labour Organisation and has also been adopted by 26 countries in Africa.
The NBS boss added that the figure for the fourth quarter of 2022 was 5.3 percent.
According to Adeniran, the new methodology considered employed persons as those who engaged in at least one hour of work during the last seven days the survey was conducted, saying that the new figure was not to give the new government a good face but to bring up the method used to conduct labour surveys in the country.