Federal Government has said Nigeria’s unemployment rate will be up to 33.5 percent by next year.
Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment revealed this as he declared a 2-day workshop on “Breaking the Resilience of High Unemployment Rate in the Country” yesterday in Abuja.
He shared that the massive rise of unemployment in Nigeria was a cause of worry.
His words, “It is a worrisome status as the global poverty capital (World Bank, 2018); and concomitant high prevalence rate of crimes and criminality, including mass murders, insurgency, militancy, armed robbery, kidnappings and drug abuse, among others.
“As if this situation is not scary enough, it is projected that the unemployment rate for this country will reach 33.5 per cent by 2020, with consequences that are better imagined, if the trend is not urgently reversed.
“It is a thing of joy to note that Nigeria has not been resting on her oars over the years in terms of dedicated efforts to curb the unemployment problem,”
“What is government and other stakeholders not doing right?
“What changes are needed in the policies, plans and strategies? What action areas need priority attention? What roles should different stakeholders play and what other options are not being exploited?
“Why do we employ expatriates for jobs Nigerians can do or why can´t Nigerians do these jobs? Why do we have deficits in housing, water, sanitation, food, entertainment facilities, health care, and education, among others?
“ How do we deploy our population of productive age to fill the skills gaps needed for our national development? “How do we break the resilience of high unemployment rate in the country?”
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