Macroeconomic Report & Economic Updates
January 15, 2018
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 51)
According to figures released by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, employment growth lagged during the recession period, and worsened unemployment/underemployment rates few quarters after. Specifically, unemployment rate rose to 18.8 percent in 2017Q31, up from 16.2 percent in previous quarter (the recession-exit quarter) and 13.9 percent in corresponding quarter. Disaggregated figures reveal that the number of unemployed and underemployed persons in the labour force increased by 17 percent and 2 percent respectively, to 15.9 million and 18.0 million in 2017Q3, majority of which are young persons within ages 15-34.
Related
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 4)
The Naira/Dollar exchange rate remained
unchanged at ?199/$
in the official market but depreciated from ?263/$ to $267 at the Bureau De Change (BDC)
market segment this week. As the naira depreciates, the CBN forex
restriction measures continue to widen the gap between the official rate and
BDC, which has led to increased calls for naira devaluation. The International Monetary
Fund (IMF) and Business owners are among the major advocates for a relaxation
of the forex restrictions set by the CBN, in order to enhance the level of economic
activities.