The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report on unemployment, calling it a “voodoo document” and a “fabrication designed to mislead the public.”
NBS yesterday announced a drop in Nigeria’s unemployment rate to 4.3 per cent in Q2 2024, a decrease from 5.3% recorded in Q1 2024 and 5.0% in Q3 2023.
NBS said the Labour Force Participation Rate rose to 79.5% in Q2 2024 from 77.3% in the previous quarter, indicating increased workforce engagement while the Employment-to-Population Ratio also improved significantly, climbing to 76.1% from 73.2% in Q1 2024.
The report noted that the dominance of self-employment, accounted for 85.6% of total employment, up from 84% in the previous quarter. Informal employment also rose slightly to 93.0%, underscoring the economy’s reliance on informal jobs.
NBS added Urban unemployment dropped to 5.2% from 6.0% in Q1, while rural unemployment stood at 2.8%, down from 4.3%. This disparity reflects the role of agriculture and informal activities in rural employment compared to urban areas’ dependence on formal jobs.
According to the report; the youth unemployment rate (ages 15–24) decreased significantly to 6.5%, compared to 8.4% in Q1 2024.
Meanwhile, NLC’s Assistant General Secretary, Chris Onyeka, described the report as a “voodoo document” and accused the NBS of manipulating figures to mislead the public.
Onyeka also described the report as “a figment of imagination concocted by people who want to manipulate figures” and labelled it as “INEC-style manipulation,” a term he used to draw parallels between perceived shortcomings in Nigeria’s election management and the NBS figures.
He further challenged the NBS to substantiate its claims, stating, “Unemployment cannot be coming down in Nigeria when factories are closing shops.”
Onyeka added that the unemployment rate “cannot be coming down when there is increasing inventory” and “reduced consumer spending.”
He noted that If anything, unemployment is increasing, noting, “Where are the jobs coming from? Is it from employers who are complaining of consumer resistance and slowing economic activities? It doesn’t add up,” Onyeka said.
“Once data does not reflect reality, it loses relevance. Unfortunately, the NBS has lost credibility as a result of the data they continue spewing out,” he stated.
Onyeka, however, noted that Nigerians can go to court if they don’t like the figures presdiented by NBS, adding that “NBS has become a failed institution, much like INEC in the eyes of the public.”
