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UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIAENUGU CAMPUS

COLLEGE OF MEDICINEDEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE & SURGERY

A TERM PAPERPRESENTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENT OF THE COURSE: G.S. 208 (HUMANITIES)

TOPIC:

CHALLENGES OF YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

PRESENTED BY

IFEDIGBO NWAMAKA O.D2004/129759

LECTURER: REV. FR. BARR. P.U. EZEANYA

DECEMBER, 2009.

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TITLE PAGE

CHALLENGES OF YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

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DEDICATION

I wish to dedicate this work to GOD ALMIGHTY who has been

my source and my help in the research and completion of this work.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I want to acknowledged the efforts of my Lecturer Rev. Fr. Barr.

P.U. Ezeanya, my family and friends who have contributed in one way or

the other to make this work a successful one. Special thanks to my friend

Nneka for her help.

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PREFACE

Millions of Nigerian youths who graduate from the Univiersities,

Polytechnics and other institutions can neither find job, appropriate

avenues to positively utilize their youthful energies, nor can they find use

for their time. This segment of the populace is at the height of their

physical and mental powers. Ideally, they should form the productive

foundation of the economy of any nation, but in Nigeria, you find them

roaming the streets in search of livelihood and employment and every

day, their frustrations keep building up, they cannot but be angry with a

society that seems not to care about them.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

According to Maisel, (1982), Unemployment is the number of

workers who are unsuccessfully looking for jobs. Spencer (1974) defines

unemployment as all people 18 years of age or older who are not working

and are actively seeking for jobs. The 1982 International Labour

Organization (ILO) resolution defines the unemployed as people above a

specified age, who during the reference period were without work, and

were seeking work.

Unemployment is a hotly talked about economic problem. The

employed, politicians, social critics, students, the ordinary/layman

discuss it. It id often quoted in newspapers, magazines, radio and

television programmes as well as in government statistical documents.

As a major economic problem, Bowden, E. sees the situation as a waste

of variable human and other resources. It frustrates and degrades people,

leads to poverty; lack of self-respect, family break down, crime and

social and political stress. If unemployment gets bad enough it spells

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collapse for the economic system. Sooner or later the hungry will widely

revolt.

According to Dernburg (1985) unemployment is a hideous disease

Obviously, we want people to be gainfully employed so that they can

support themselves and fell that they are contributing members of

society. According to Lipsey and Steiner (1981), the social and political

importance of the unemployment rate is enormous it produces

economic waste and causes human suffering. If a fully employed

economy with a constant labour force has 100 million people willing to

work in 1980 their services must either be used in 1980 or wasted.

When the services of only 90 million are used,10 percent of the force will

be unemployed and the potential 1980 output of 10 million workers is

lost forever.Also, there is the human cost of hardship and misery that can

be caused by prolonged periods of unemployment.

We can say that unemployment is responsible for some of the very

dehumanizing problems in the society. Loss of income, frustration,

poverty, crime and open revolt are some of the fallouts of unemployment.

This not withstanding, it is important to point out that no matter what

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policy makers do, some unemployment must exist in our economy. This

is because the resources needed to provide employment to everyone that

is willing to work are limited in supply. What is totally wrong is

continued and chronic unemployment. However, efforts have continued

to be made to improve the physical environment for growth of

employment.

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CHAPTER TWO

TYPES OF UNEMPLOYMENT

Frictional Unemployment: This type of unemployment results from the

general flexible nature of the workplace whereby an employable person

is free to enter and leave as and when he wants or as may be stipulated by

the existing jobs law. New people enter the workforce as some are

leaving in search of better jobs in other job places. Some people stop

searching for jobs because of frustration for not finding any after long

period.

Structural Unemployment: For every economy growth is seen in the

context of its ability to use the available resources to produce goods and

services that are in demand in what is called full employment output

level. In this context, structural unemployment is caused primarily by

displacement of some firms due to rising competition in their industries.

Here too is a situation of declining demand for the products of

some industries. Example is the farming sub-sector where hoes, cutlasses,

and similar manually operated farm implements have virtually been

replaced by mechanical devices such as weeders and tractors.

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Clinical Unemployment: This is unemployment resulting from

insufficient aggregate demand at full employment output hence causes

factors to be retrenched or remain unused. This type of unemployment

leads first to inflation which later may if not checked, graduate to

recession and to depression. This is why it is often referred to as mass

unemployment because the situation usually leads to massive

retrenchment and compounded by those who cannot find jobs due to

frictional and structural changes in the economy.

Technological Unemployment: Is similar in characteristics to structural

unemployment. One major difference is that under technological

unemployment people are displaced by technology machines and

equipment installed to take the jobs of individuals. The result is that more

and more people will lose their job as soon as firms start acquiring new

generation machines that require less human effort because of their high

land of efficiency. To eliminate this type of unemployment is highly

impossible because of the global technological dynamism. Even by

increasing total spending will not eliminate this type of unemployment.

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Regional Unemployment: This type of unemployment occurs when

the basic industry or industries in an area start declining. This may be

caused by falling demands, technological displacement etc. e.xamples are

the hitherto thriving groundnut plantation in the North, palm produce of

the East, and cocoa plantation of the west. Production of these products

has hit the bottom. With the exception of cocoa which generates very

meager foreign exchange because of reduced production, the rest are no

longer exported, at least for now. Another is the assembly plants in

Nigeria which nearly went into oblivion. Workers in these areas are in

constant fear of retrenchment.

Search Unemployment: Search unemployment arises out of the human

characteristics of insatiation. A situation where an individual rejects a

job for which he is qualified and fitted because he feels the pay is not

commensurate with the job. So he keeps searching for another job that

will meet his financial demand. Another is a situation where an

individual is offered a lower level job in quiet a different area but decides

not to accept the job, believing he would soon get the right type of job

and pay.

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Residual Unemployment: Apart from old age, there are times persons

who were active and highly productive are found to be retrogressing or

performing below acceptable productivity level. They will gradually

reach a state of inefficiency that will serve the organization the best to

retrench such people. This type of unemployment is often caused by

sudden death or social problems, disenchantment with the work

environment and similar problem. This can be corrected by solving the

problem and instituting a retraining programme.

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CHAPTER THREE

3.1 CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF UNEMPLOYMENT

1. Rising Population: The population of Nigeria, as in many African

countries has been rising faster than the job available. This is seen in

both the rising birth rate and the falling death rate figures quoted by the

National Population Commission.

2. Changing Composition of the Labour Force: The rising population

has resulted in more people entering the labour force. Primary,

secondary, and tertiary schools drop outs including women and some

other groups that before now were dependents on heads of their

households are swelling in number, thereby aggravating unemployment.

3. Persistent/Unabating Economic Hardship: Since the 1980s the

economy has moved from rising inflation to mild recession to chronic

recession and is now in a depression. As days pass by, more households

find that they cannot cope with the increasing difficulty of meeting their

needs largely caused by declining national fortune.

4. Neglect of Agriculture: For an economy to experience growth

there is need for government to put in place enabling environment that

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would mobilize all the sectors of the economy. Before the discovery and

exportation of petroleum products in Nigeria in 1962, the mainstay of our

economy was agriculture.

5. Migration from other counties

It is common for people to move from their country to other

countries where they believe their economic lots will be enhanced. In

West Africa, people come to Nigeria for better living.

6. Embezzlement of Public Fund

Nigeria is blessed with both human and material resources through

which it is expected to generate public funds. Foreign exchange receipts

end up in private pockets and in personal foreign accounts.

7. Increase in Educational Institution: Since the 1970s, the various

levels of education has witnessed rapid growth in number of people in

primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education at slightly above 22

million without exponential increase in job availability.

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3.2 EFFECTS OF UNEMPLOYMENT

Reduced Potential Revenue For Government: -

Tax is one major source of government revenue individual (or

personal) corporate and other forms of taxes help to beef up government

finances for solving its numerous financial needs and economic

problems.

Fall In National Output/Income: -

Employers acquire additional resources to achieve a given level of

output occasioned by increasing demand. On its part, increasing demand

is a function of growing economy, part of which is caused by growing

employment.

High Dependence Ratio: -

At periods of high unemployment many homes will have large

numbers of dependents. In a society, dominated by large-sized young

households it is evident that the financial burden will be too much on

bread winners.

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High Level Of Spending: -

Unemployment drains past and current savings of house holds. A

family of five with one or two bread winners will be catering for the

whole family.

Low investment:

Investment has been shown as dependent on savings when a

consumer spending is high little will be saved and investment will fall. If

the multiplied effect of reduced saving and investment is considered it

will result in furthering poverty.

Fall In Standard Of Living: -

How saving leads to fall in investment. Increased investments

mean better quality goods at reasonable prices.

Brain drain: -

The present craze to travel to Europe and America is due to the

worsening economic situation in the country.

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Increase Rural- Migration: -

Lack of infrastructural facilities in rural areas coupled with a

virtual lack of income earning opportunities makes rural dwellers to

move to urban cities in search of better life.

Increase In Crime/Social Vices: -

Unemployment has shown to be a frustrating and degrading

situation. A situation where when people are leaving home for work, you

are at home or wandering aimlessly.

Agents Of Destabilization: -

As is stated above, frustration can lead one astray thereby doing

things he normally would not do.

3.3 WAYS OF REDUCING UNEMPLOYMENT

1. Increasing investment climate

2. Reducing population growth rate

3. development of rural/urban cities

4. curbing illegal immigration

5. proper monitoring of our ports

6. encouraging investment in agriculture

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7. encouraging self-employment

8. having a self national policy on employment

9. establishment/encouragement of labour intensive industries

10. national employment schemes

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CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

The Director of the National Planning Commission of Nigeria,

Ayodele Omotoso in Nigeria, who was in the audience, said that Youth

unemployment in Nigeria is 60 to 70%, and the labor market can only

absorb 10% of new job entrants. According to the Regional Vice

President Ezekwesili, youth employment needs to be addressed from

many entry points. The profile of unemployment of youth has to enter the

way we think, just as gender has. Youth need to be effectively targeted in

everything we do, so that they will have a stake in the future.

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REFERENCES

Chukwu Christopher Obinna (2000) Macroeconomics A practicalApproach.

Ray Morphy (2008) Nigeria: Youth Unemployment, Poverty a Time

Bomb for country.