YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AND ITS SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS IN NIGERIA

Ezie Obumneke

Department of Economics

Bingham University, Karu, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

E-mail: eobumneke@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the socio-economic implications of youth unemployment in Nigeria as well as its causes and implications. Youths are very important stakeholder in any society. They are not only the future of Nigeria, but also a major stakeholder and useful resource in nation building. However, available data show that youth unemployment is very prevalent in Nigeria with far reaching implications for stability of the economy. Unemployment has a negative multiplier effect not only on the individual involved but on the society as a whole. This paper identifies the main causes of youth unemployment in Nigeria which are; adoption of untimely economic policy measures, wrong impression about technical and vocational studies, the neglect of the agricultural sector, poor educational Planning and poor enabling environment, anchoring the explanation of the causes of these youth unemployment on neo-liberalism that created economic and social dislocations. The paper argues that many anti-social activities such as political thuggry, militancy, restiveness and other social vices evident among the unemployed and jobless youths are real dangers to the stability of the country. Youth unemployment has been identified as one of the core causes of the rising level of social disorder and insecurity permeating the entire country of Nigeria .The paper concludes that addressing the problem of youth unemployment must involve all the stakeholders. Suggestive from the analysis therefore are that effective policy measures such as Re – prioritization of the Agricultural Sector, reformation of educational system and Provision of Enabling Environment that will drastically reduce unemployment and poverty should be adopted to eradicate the menace of youth unemployment.

Keywords: Socio-economic, Youth, Unemployment