Unemployment Rate: Nigeria

Analysis# Nigeria Unemployment Rate Nigeria's unemployment rate reached 22.6% in 2018, marking both the current level and the all-time peak in the IMF's data range. This represents a dramatic 343.1% increase from the 2010 low of 5.1%. The nine-year period from 2010 to 2018 reveals a persistent upward trend, with the rate more than quadrupling over the decade. The sharpest acceleration occurred between 2016 and 2018, when unemployment climbed from 13.4% to 22.6%—a two-year surge of 9.2 percentage points. A notable stabilization happened in 2013-2014, when the rate dipped to 7.8%, but this reprieve proved temporary. The sustained rise since 2015 signals ongoing structural challenges in Nigeria's labor market.