Unemployment – all states are not equal

You are more likely to be unemployed if you live in Yobe State than in any other state in Nigeria, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show. The 2010 NBS data, being the latest available, show the state’s overall unemployment rate was as high as 39 percent – that is, an average of 1 out of every 3 persons was unemployed in the state. If you are a female living in Yobe State, the chances that you will be unemployed are as high as 48.9 percent. Only Zamfara and Sokoto State come close with the unemployment rate for women in both states put at 48.6 percent and 48.3 percent, respectively. This means that an average of one out of every two women living in the state is unemployed.

Zamfara and Sokoto States, respectively, also have the second and third highest unemployment rates in the country. The unemployment rate in Zamfara State stands at 33.4 percent while that of Sokoto State is 32.4 percent. Imo State breaks the ranks of northern states with high unemployment rates with the state having the fourth highest unemployment rate in the country put at 29.9 percent of the its labour force. Bauchi State comes close to Imo with 29.7 percent unemployment rate, the fifth highest in the federation. Unemployment rates for females in all the five states with the highest unemployment rates are almost twice those for males, indicating generally that females in these states find it more difficult to break into the labour market.

On the other side of the list are the states with the lowest unemployment rates in the country. The southwest dominates the list, with Lagos coming tops with unemployment rate put at just 7.6 percent. Unemployment rate for females in Lagos State is higher at 9.1 percent compared to the 6.2 percent for males. Oyo State with an unemployment rate of 8.8 percent and Ogun State with an unemployment rate of 9.9 percent have the second and third lowest unemployment rates in the country, respectively. Ekiti State and Ondo State with 14 percent and 14.1 percent have the fourth and fifth lowest unemployment rates.

In all the states covered by the report, unemployment is an endemic challenge as those that are unemployed have been in the labour market for some time. In Bauchi and Jigawa States, 100 percent of unemployed persons claim to have been searching for jobs for more than four months. In Ekiti, Osun, Borno, Ondo and Kano, not less than 95 percent of unemployed persons have been searching for jobs for more than four months.

It is interesting to see from the data that for a large number of the employed, one of the biggest stumbling blocks in getting a job is lack of money to get a job. In Kano State, an average of 55.3 percent of the unemployed cited lack of money to facilitate the process of getting a job as the reason for not having a job. This is compared to an insignificant 0.8 percent of the unemployed that cited lack of job experience as a reason for not having a job. Also in Sokoto State, an average of 43.2 percent of the unemployed cited lack of money as the main reason for not having a job, compared to just 2.6 percent that said lack of experience was the main reason.

On a national level, lack of money to facilitate the process of getting a job was the reason 22.4 percent of the unemployed said stood in their way of getting a job. This was second only to lack of contacts which was cited by 23.7 percent of the unemployed. Another 11.3 percent of the unemployed cited poor labour market information, 10.5 percent cited poor qualification, and only 4.6 percent blamed lack of job experience.

The high number of unemployed people citing lack of money as the reason they cannot get a job is a strong case for state governments to consider introducing some form of financial support for the unemployed in their states. Also, the high number of the unemployed staying out of job for long periods means that state governments should consider putting in place skill refresher and acquisition courses for the unemployed in their states.

BusinessDay Research forthcoming report titled “State of the States” looks at state governments spending and initiatives taken in the direction of boosting employment in the various states.

The report aggregates and analyses the 2013 spending plans of the 36 states of the federation and the FCT and the initiatives they are taking to improve their economies. The report also includes the estimated economic sizes (GDPs) of the 36 states and Abuja.

Note that unemployment as defined in the NBS report refers to persons that are without work but are currently available for work and are seeking for work. This means unemployed excludes those who are not interested in working or are not seeking to work.

Note: If you want analysis or data on any company or any particular sector of the Nigerian economy or industry or have any other queries that BusinessDay Research Unit can help you with, kindly send a mail to research@s19080.p615.sites.pressdns.com/en or call 08185193932. We can also help you with your confidential market surveys and competition analysis at a cost.

ANTHONY OSAE-BROWN

The high number of the unemployed staying out of job for long periods means that state governments should consider putting in place skill refresher and acquisition courses for the unemployed in their states

Editor, BusinessDay Research Unit

anthony@s19080.p615.sites.pressdns.com/en