NLC tackles NBS unemployment rate report, says it’s ‘fictional’
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has tackled the report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on the unemployment rate in the country.
The Informant247 reported on Monday that Nigeria’s unemployment rate has significantly dropped to 4.3% in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report stated that the unemployment rate dropped from 5.3% recorded in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, reflecting an improvement in the labour market.
The report also said the employment-to-population ratio, which measures the number of employed workers against the total working-age population, increased to 76.1 per cent in Q2 2024.
However, while tackling the report, the national assistant general secretary of the NLC, Chris Onyeka, according to Punch, criticised the report and described it as a “voodoo document” that fails to reflect the stark realities Nigerians face daily.
Onyeka said the figures were a “fabrication designed to mislead the public”, adding that the data was inconsistent with the deteriorating economic landscape.
“Unemployment can not be coming down in Nigeria when factories are closing shops,” he said.
“It cannot be coming down when there is increasing inventory and reduced consumer spending. If anything, unemployment is increasing.”
He questioned the methodology behind the report, describing it as a “figment of imagination concocted by people who want to manipulate figures”.
He also challenged the NBS to substantiate its claims by identifying the sectors supposedly generating jobs.
“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 said.
“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.
“The truth remains: the NBS has become a failed institution, much like INEC in the eyes of the public.”
