In the first quarter of 2024, 14.4% of Nigerian youths aged 15 to 24 were identified as neither attending school, employed, nor participating in any form of training.
This figure marked an increase from 13.7% in the third quarter of 2023.
This group, referred to as NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), represents young people who have completed their education but are not involved in the labour market or further studies, reflecting a state of youth disengagement.
The results also showed that more females were identified as NEET, with 15.9% compared to 15.5% in the previous quarter.
The statistic was part of the Nigeria Labour Force Survey (NLFS); a comprehensive survey designed to collect data on employment, unemployment, and other labour force characteristics, providing quarterly national estimates, and was recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
“In Q1 2024, the proportion of youth (15-24 years) identified as NEET was 14.4%, up from 13.7% in Q3 2023. The results also showed more females in NEET, with 15.9% compared to 15.5% in Q3 2023,” the NBS report read in part.
The NBS report further revealed that, in the first quarter of 2024, youths aged 15 to 24 accounted for 55.3% of the total labour force population. Of this group, 50.6% were employed, while 8.4% were unemployed.
The NBS report provided additional employment data on youths aged 15 to 24 in the first quarter of 2024, highlighting that 2.4% of the total discouraged job seekers in the working population were from this age group.
This is the lowest rate among other age groups, including those aged 25 to 34, 35 to 45, and 55 to 64. The only group with a lower rate of discouraged job seekers was the working population aged 65 and above, recording just 0.3% in the first quarter of 2024.
Discouraged job seekers are individuals who are outside the labor force, available for employment but not actively seeking jobs due to market-related factors. These factors may include past failures to find a suitable job, lack of experience or qualifications, a mismatch between available jobs and their skills, being considered too young or too old by employers, or disabilities preventing them from working.
The report revealed that in Q1 2024, 3.6% of people outside the labour force were classified as discouraged job seekers, up from 3.1% in Q3 2023.
This increase indicates a growing number of people who are becoming discouraged from seeking employment. Among discouraged job seekers, 3.4% were male, while 3.8% were female, reflecting a slight gender disparity in the data.