The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has stated
The Statistician General of the Federation, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, said the drop was due to the new methodology considering employed persons as those who engaged in at least one hour of work during the last seven days the survey was conducted. The old method defined those that are in the labour force to be from 15-64 years old but the new method views it to be 15 and above that are willing, available, and able when the survey is conducted. The report showed that the share of wage employment was 11.8% while more Nigerians operated their own businesses or engaged in farming activities at 75.4%.
It said the underemployment rate, which is the share of employed people working less than 40 hours per week and declaring themselves willing and available to work more, was 12.2%. While the rate of informal employment including agriculture among the employed Nigerians was 92.6%. ICLS, which was birthed and adopted in 1982 at the International Conference of Labour Statisticians. Adeniran said the new figure brings Nigeria’s Labour Survey in tandem with the international standard which is equally used by Niger, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana and other African countries.
