Experts Speak Against The new Nigeria Labour survey Guidelines

The implementation of the new Nigeria Labour Survey Guidelines by the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics, which is expected to reduce Nigeria’s unemployment figure through the release of the Labour Force Survey by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has had stakeholders queried the accuracy of some of the indices to be considered.

Stakeholders such as the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), faulted the new guidelines by explaining that it does not provide some indices to accurately give credence to information regarding how households use their labour resources, The group argued that subsequent impact on livelihoods and well-being which are supposed to give the basis for how labour surveys should be conducted, restricted those to be surveyed because of the time it was conducted.

As such, they maintained that the report is faulty as it does not provide some indices to accurately provide information on how households use their labour resources, as well as the subsequent impact on the livelihoods and well-being of the people.

What is the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics Saying?

In his defense of the new methods, the Statistician-General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adeniran, the update is to upgrade the Nigerian Living Standard Survey (NLSS) to international standards. He explained that the bureau is ready to produce accurate data that is in line with international standards and guidelines, it has decided to adopt a new methodology that would reflect the present realities.

Adeyemi Adeniran promised that the new method would Follow guidelines adopted during the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in Geneva in 2013, he claimed that the aim of this re-evaluation was two-pronged. The methodology will be in line with international best practices and locally relevant, and on the other hand, to ensure that a production process is robust enough to produce estimates on a sustainable basis (avoiding periodic gaps), and also, produce more labour market indicators and analysis that will inform government about the employment and job situation in Nigeria.

What are in the new Labour Template?

While those who engage in subsistence were included in the old template, the category would be surveyed differently and removed from the new one. The new method is expected to adopt continuous data collection throughout the year, which is against the quarterly collection of data that was done before.

The NBS reported that the new definition of employment has been changed on the new labour statistics template to include anyone who works at least one hour per week, as opposed to the previous requirement of working at least 20 hours per week. The move, it said would reduce the country’s unemployment numbers. Also, the unemployed category would have worked at least one hour from the previous seven days the survey would be conducted, which is a departure from the initial method of 20 hours.

Similarly, the underemployment would be tagged for those who work up to 39 hours a week and are willing to accept more hours of work which was formerly between 20 and 39 hours within the reference period of a week.

What are Economists and Experts Saying?

The old method defined those that constitute the labour force to be from 15-64 years old but the newly adopted one views it to be 15 and above that are willing, available and able when the survey is conducted. Criticising the one-hour-per-week method, against the previous requirement of working at least 20 hours per week.

KPMG, a professional services firm, had stated that the unemployment rate would increase to 40.6 per cent in 2023, due to economic growth and the inability of the nation’s economy to absorb about four to five million graduates yearly, into the labour market.

Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Chris Onyeka, urged the NBS to release a database, which reflects the realities on the ground. Using N30,000 as minimum wage, the hourly rate would amount to N187.

He said: “We always come with figures different from the NBS, especially on unemployment and inflation rates most times, independent research is conducted on macroeconomic indices.”

Similarly, Vice President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Tommy Okon, who also said he was not expecting anything less, said the issue of underemployment should be looked into critically.

“Nobody would have expected youths would seek greener pastures in Sudan, a country we are far better than by every standard,” he said. Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr Muda Yusuf, said the country’s unemployment data has worsened.

Nigeria unemployment Rate

Godwin Fafemi Uche, Co-Founder and CEO of HighJobLink Limited, believe that it would be fraudulent to reduce unemployment numbers. When the labour is not manipulated, it is discovered that youth and women unemployment is under-represented. Fresh graduates are churned out yearly to join the labour market and the capacity of the labour market to absorb fresh graduates is limited, even the ones there cannot find space. The figure should be close to 40 per cent.

Economists lamented that a lot of Nigerians’ earnings are not commensurate to their educational status, stating that many are working just to put food on their table. With 33.3 per cent, if you apply to the people in the working age group, you will see that the number would be quite big because the population has grown and more people have graduated to fall into that group. The unemployment rate has not improved and the number has increased significantly.

About Author

Jane Ada

Jane Ada is a highjoblink.com Author and writer with firsthand knowledge of the skills needed to run small businesses. As an entrepreneur herself, she writes about how entrepreneurs can choose the right business and grow their businesses.

Leave a Reply