NBS and the former statistician general had different estimates of the 4.1% unemployment rate

The recently released unemployment rate of 4.1% sparked a dispute between the National Bureau of Statistics and former statistician-general Dr. Yemi Kale.

The unemployment rate for the first quarter of 2023, according to the NBS’s new methodology, was 4.1%, OBASANJO NEWS24 recalls from last Thursday.

In response, Kale criticised the methodology employed by the NBS to produce the most recent unemployment data during an interview on Arise Television on Monday.

He said that 20 hours of work would produce the same amount of income as one hour of work in the US.

In Kale’s view, data is crucial since it provides instruments for problem-solving by policymakers.

The 20 hours (old methods) were selected because it was determined that if you worked for that long, you could be able to earn enough money to be equivalent to working one hour in the US. Then you can compare two things even more.

“However, policymakers cannot use it, and I must emphasise that the most crucial use of data is to offer knowledge for policy, not for international comparison. Comparing across borders is beneficial, he said.

However, in a statement in response to Kale, Wakili Ibrahim, the Director of the National Bureau of Statistics’ Communications and Public Relations Department, stated the new technique was in line with global norms.

Internationally recognised is the new methodology. He claimed that the new one-hour system was being used in all of our surrounding African nations.

Nigeria’s NBS unemployment rate in the second quarter of 2020 was 33.3%.