The issue of unemployment has been discussed severally. It is worth the consideration when looking the power arm youths play in the future of a country. It's something I always ask myself why many governments undermine this. Maybe it's their way of keeping greedy control and influence the economic chain. I like looking at numbers and that's what we are going to soon head into. I was looking at the youth unemployment level in the United States and I was amazed. I should be when talking about how it is so rampaging in where I am residing. It has been something around 9-10% for this year. Could you imagine all ⇪ lows× of 5% dated back to 1951. Spanning even longer, from 1948-2024 the highest peak of unemployment ratio has been around 29% which was dated to occur in 2020. One could really attribute this to the pandemic which was rampaging ALL parts of the world.
Let me squeeze this article back to Nigeria. We are talking of a country with a population of over 230 million people according to feasibility studies. How many percent make up the youth arm? We are talking of 60-65% of the total population here. I know it is worth considering who a youth in Nigeria and the United States when looking at age brackets. In the US, we are talking about individuals from 15-24 yrs whereas it spans to 34 years in Nigeria. Nevertheless, one fact stands out, a poor economy will always show deterring results. Maybe I will craft an article to compare the adult unemployment ratio between these two countries.
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That said, we look further into the unemployment ratio of the Youth. We have heard of all time high of 54% in youth unemployment. This occured in 2020 and as I earlier said, no country was safe economically during the COVID-19 era. This figures is currently standing around 30-40%. Let's do some calculation here. Drafting out 60% from the asumed 230 million people we are talking of 138 million youths here. Checking a mid percentage 35% of 138 million it reveals that 48.3 million Nigerian youth are unemployed and even adding underemployment to the ratio. Since the inception of the new government last year, we have experienced employee cuts by businesses to survive the economic scare. It something we have to analyze how 2025 will look like should the economy remain this way or perharps hikes to worse worst scenarios.
The challenge of limited job creation is really biting into the economy. The question of why keep pushing youths the direction of schooling when there are no ready made jobs has to be asked. How many youths graduate yearly. As of early this year, analyst suggest Nigeria produces the range of 500,000- 700,000 graduates yearly. This figure to me seems a little smaller as I expect it to be at least a million. I have seen the level of school activities when putting all tertiary institutions into consideration. Even with that, how many of these graduate get a job?. Without a doubt, the employment ratio of fresh graduates is very discouraging. Within 20-30% get a formal job (job that meets their credentials) and some have to wait for more than five years to secure their first job. It's something to consider as lapses when understanding the fast changes in technology meaning that what was learnt may be outdated. This when looking from the right lenses leads to inefficient employment.
How will we handle 400 million by 2050?
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There is certainly going to be an increased population in the next 25 years with some expecting it to double. Nevertheless, even if it were not to double, let' say 50% increase, how will we be able to handle the situation? Has the government looked into this? Many will say several programs and projects have been put in place to handle this. As I will always say, I look at the numbers and currently there is no green light. With much daily resources and earning pushed into daily bread it deters upcoming entrepreneurs. It is something that I have to pity the Nigerian youth in the process. It takes time to build big businesses, something which is in the hands of Nigerian youth to manifest and close unemployment gaps. With a struggling economy that draws young potential entrepreneurs to the survival table, it becomes very difficult to analyze our fate.
How will we then stand stable when population figures hit 400 million? Currently, inflation remains inevitable in the country. In short, this spans globally into the dollar markets. Experts predict the dollar market may crasn the next decade. If this happens, it means those Nigerians dependent on dollars as a hedge may all face market liquidations. The best is always to build your country to it's best to survive economic scares.
To conclude, let me add, the statistical analysis on youth unemployment rate in Nigeria is very deterring. While some may say other under-developed countries are facing worse, you'll have to look from the level of abundant resources available. Nigeria is blessed with various natural resources and good farmlands and farming systems. I see this as an unworthy punishment upon future seeking youths of the country. As I earlier said, daily survivers and unemployed youth cannot open up the economy. I wonder how the economic experts surrounding the national table do not see this. Let's see how the next decade will look like.