Data is a crucial resource for decision-making. This is especially true when addressing socioeconomic problems, when good data and its thorough analysis may enhance livelihoods and potentially save many lives. One instance of an economic issue that might turn into a social ill if statistics are not used to support its management is unemployment.

Due to the massive demographic dividends in Nigeria, where the median age is 18.1 years according to Worldometer, a worldwide source of real-time demographics data, young unemployment has become particularly serious. Over 87 million children under the age of 15 are now living in Nigeria, according to Countrymeters, a worldwide demographics portal. As more of these children grow older and enter the labor force, the burden on the country’s economy will increase.

Despite the severity of the young unemployment issue, there is still a lack of available statistics. According to data from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s overall unemployment rate is 33.3 percent, while the rate for young people is 42.5 percent. According to this statistics, young Nigerians are reportedly extremely apprehensive about their career prospects, despite the fact that several governmental and private organizations are steadfastly banding together to battle this infamous tendency.

However, the fact that stakeholders may only access such generic data serves as a disincentive to this cancerous expansion, which has been a source of rising concern for economists as well as security and development specialists.

Not all forms of unemployment are completely reflected in the overall figures. For instance, Nigeria has six geopolitical regions with varying levels of young unemployment because of diverse levels of development, security, and commercial activity.

The youth population also consists of women and men who, owing to social expectations and cultural patterns, adopt different strategies to cope with the unemployment problem, which in turn require different counter strategies from the stakeholders.

Additionally, young unemployment leads to unsustainable earning behaviors, some of which may endanger the development of their human capital and, eventually, the economic viability of the country. Since the unemployment issue cannot be resolved with general initiatives, each of these unique problems requires a stand-alone solution.

The most recent Jobberman research, “How Young People Survive Without Jobs,” tries to fill the data vacuum in Nigeria’s youth unemployment and offers regional perspective on this issue.

The study examines certain aspects of young unemployment, such as geographical and gender differences, their most popular coping mechanisms, and length of unemployment. This study highlights the micro aspects of this challenge, each of which calls for a unique strategy from the stakeholders.

For instance, the latest statistics shows that 78% of Nigerian youngsters have been without a job for at least a year.

The length of unemployment is particularly concerning in some areas, such as the North East and North West, where 30% and 27%, respectively, have experienced unemployment for more than five years. In this situation in these areas, it is more strategically important to address both the unemployment crisis and the adolescents’ employability because their abilities have been dormant for several years.

It is noteworthy to note that although 17.65 percent of jobless youngsters receive government assistance in the South West, just 14.71 percent do so in the North East.

However, the North East has a far lengthier unemployment rate than the South West: 62.41 percent of North Eastern youngsters experience unemployment for more than three years compared to 25.88 percent in the South West.

This information indicates that young people in the North East have a greater need for job assistance programs, which calls into question how the government distributes its safety net across the country.

The survey also reveals the spending habits of young people without jobs, who spend 84 percent of the money they receive from family and friends on food and 10.19 percent on Internet data. Because they can only meet their most basic needs, young people without jobs are unable to make major investments in their upskilling. a decision? In order to secure a longer-term influence on jobless adolescents’ productivity, stakeholders should focus first on developing their human capital rather than just placing them in employment since they may find it difficult to carry out job tasks.

Youth unemployment with a gender bias also creates a variety of microissues. For instance, despite having a higher presence on the labor market, men experience unemployment for longer than women. In addition, just 5.88 percent of women use government assistance, compared to 94.12 percent of males, while only 33.44 percent of women hustle (do menial occupations and transitory activities), compared to 66.56 percent of men.

According to the findings, young women and men are equally affected by unemployment. Whereas males need a support structure to shorten their time in the unemployment pool, women really need more inclusion.

Public and commercial organizations should collaborate to find the right partners and create interventions tailored to the region in order to successfully address the issue of young unemployment in Nigeria.

Stakeholders must examine their support initiatives to determine if they are meeting the needs of the youths in each location rather than relying solely on abstract statistics to understand the impact and consequences of youth unemployment when detailed data has been provided, as in this case. Nigeria’s young unemployment is a complex issue that calls for a complex solution.

Jobberman, a digital platform established in 2009, offers training and job placement for job searchers as well as the greatest choice of candidates for businesses recruiting.

With youth-specific research, training, and advocacy activities, it is the largest job placement website in sub-Saharan Africa and seeks to enhance economic sustainability. Jobberman Nigeria is a subsidiary of The African manpower Company, a consortium of pan-African companies collaborating to provide original, indigenous solutions to Africa’s manpower shortage.

Abstract on the effect of youth unemployment

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