At least one in 35 Nigerian graduates are unemployed in Nigeria, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed in its Labor Force Statistics released on Monday

The graduates include, holders of Nigeria Certificate In Education (NCE), Ordinary National Diploma (OND), nursing certificate, Higher National Diploma (HND), Bachelor of Science(Bsc) degree, Masters of Science(Msc), Doctorate (PhD) and also professor certificate.
This indicates that becoming graduates as a guarantee to finding a job is long gone.

According to NBS data, the total number of Nigerians with at least Ordinary National Diploma are 12,329,987(12.3 million) out of which 4,394,550(4.39 million) are currently jobless.

Breakdown shows in the labour market 5,779,243(5.77 million) are with NCE/OND/Nursing certificates, out of which1,849,984(1.84 million) number are currently jobless

The same reality goes also for 5,940,546(5.9 million) in the labour market with BA/BSc/HND degrees out of the number 2,382,052(2.3 million) are out of work.

The report also showed that the 349,306 in the labour market with masters’ degree 97,196 are unemployed.

Even 73,859 Nigerians with Doctorate certificate(PhD), 12,483 are also unemployed.

Moreso, 52,835 Nigerians with Tech/Prof certificate, NBS noted are currently unemployed out of 187,033 in the labour market.

“This is devastating especially for recent graduates trying to enter the workforce, as opportunities, regardless of qualifications, were now becoming few and far between,” Mercy James a HR expert explained.

Not only good degree but preparedness for the expectation of the prospective employers should also be in the goal of graduates as conditions in the labour market at present are brutal, and data has showed it is increasingly clear, have a mountain to climb,” she advised.