An expert on the economy, Prof. Uche Uwaleke has faulted the National Bureau of Statistics (NBSs) 4.1 percent unemployment rate for the first quarter of 2023, saying the figure does not reflect the actual situation on ground.

Uwaleke, a popular commentator on Nigerias economic issues cited a number of reasons which include, a low sample size of under 40,000 persons used in the survey as well as the adoption of the International Labour Organisation guidelines for employment computation which considers employment from the perspective of persons of working age who are engaged in some type of jobs for at least one hour in a week for pay or profit.

Sharing his response with New Telegraph, the University Don opined that, compared to the old methodology adopted by the NBS, this new methodology, including apprentices, is tantamount to significantly lowering the bar and could lead to wrong policy decisions by the government.

Much as the ILO guidelines provide a basis for global comparison, it is important that Nigeria adopts country-specific guidelines which closely reflect unique employment conditions prevalent in the country, he said (New Telegraph)