CAUSE AND EFFECT OF YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

        CHAPTER ONE

• INTRODUCTION

For some decades ago, youth’s unemployment has been a serous economic problem in the society, particularly in Nigeria as a whole.

It is emergency in several developing nations it has struck where it once seemed none-exist. It affects hundreds of the millions of people, many of whom are mothers and fathers for two thirds of citizens in every nation. It is treating as number one; it creates social illness for people. It is also a principle roots of the problems of many young people who become involve in various criminal activities like drug peddling. Advance fee fraud (419) and it disturbs the sleep of millions and for the millions of others. It could be just around the corner.

According to Encyclopedia America volume 27 (1974)  it state that, unemployment is a state of person who wants to work, but does not have a job. It can be seen as a structural problem where the production capacity of the economy is far below the level of absorbing the available manpower. The unemployment can also be said to mean those people who are able and eager to work, but for whom no suitable works are available.

According to ADRIAN SINFIELD unemployment devalues or debases the standard or quality of life in the society. He elaborates further in the following ways:

• The working force would not be able to leave unsatisfying or unsatisfactory jobs because of fear they could not be able to get another and as a result o these, the number of frustrated and alienated workers increase.
• Divisions within society are likely to grow. The unemployed and those unsatisfactory or unsatisfying works may blame weak groups in society for their problems. Immigrants and ethnic minority may be used as scapegoat with the result that racial tension increases.
• Sinfield believes that high level of unemployment reduce the chances of equality of opportunity been achieved.

John Lea and Jock Young said that unemployment among the youths leads to the marginalization of some members of society because those who are unemployed feel they have to stake in the society. Since they are not in any union, they lack the institutional means to express their discontent. Many social problems have been linked to unemployment “Sheila Allen and Alan Watson” says links between unemployment and a wide range of social problems have been made by academicians, politicians, and journalists, ill health, premature death, attempted and actual suicide, marriage breakdown, child battering, racial conflict and football hooliganism are of the examples that have been cited if we look critically, we could understand that all these problems are being caused by unemployment and it can be seen as an effect on individual rather than society. However, clearly, they also have implication for society because of unemployment does not cause or contribute to these problems, than it may threaten the stability of society by undermining the family and causing racial tension and crime.

Unemployment is probably the most widely feared phenomenon of our times affirms the organization for economic cooperation and development (OECD).

The extent and consequence of this phenomenon are known, writes the commission European Communities, but dealing it is “auduous” it is specter says one expert that is, returning to taunt the street of the old continent.

Unemployment is an old problem, for centuries people have been finding themselves involuntary without work. Once the job was finished tens of thousand of people used in large construction project then becomes unemployed at lest until they find themselves in some other jobs. In the mid term they led a rather precarious life to say the least.

During the middle age “even though a problem of unemployment in the modern sense did not yet exist” in those days anyone who did not work was considered as vagabonds. During later as 19^th century many British analysts associated with the unemployed primarily with the roughs and a vagrant who slept out or walked the street at night explains Professor Burnelt.

The discovering of unemployment “took place near the end of 19^th century or the beginning of the 20^th century. Social commissions were instituted to study and resolve the problem such as the selected committee of British house of common on distress from want of employment. In 1895, joblessness had become a social plague. The new awareness grew dramatically particularly after the First World War. The conflict with its frantic arms production had particularly eliminated unemployment. But beginning in the 1920s, the Western world faces a series of recession culminating great expression that began in 1929 and struck all the industrialized economy of the world. After the second world war, many countries experienced a new economic boom, and unemployment dropped, but the beginning of today’s unemployment can be easily traced back to the mid 1960 says the organization for economic cooperation’s and development, the labour market suffered a new blow caused by the oil crisis of the 1970s and the computerized information explosion with consequent layoff, unemployment has begun relentless ascent cutting into even those white colours and managerial sectors once considered secure. Economic distinguishes between a numbers of types of unemployment; Frictional, cyclical and structural unemployment.

Frictional Unemployment: This type of unemployment does not usually seen as serious problem because it occurs when a worker changes job but does not adapt immediately to the new job.

Structural Unemployment: Generally leads to include as an important constituent, that element of unemployment, which is due to the insufficiency of means of production in relations to the employment availability’s. Structural unemployment can also occur when jobs are available and there are workers seeking employment, but workers do not match the job.

Cyclical Unemployment: In the broad sense the term covers not only cyclical unemployment proper, but also seasonal unemployment: this is a type of unemployment whereby throughout the period, the number of unemployment far exceeded the number of vacancies, that is, the supply of labour exceed the demand of workers by employers. The concepts of cyclical unemployment do not imply that unemployment will fall to comparatively low in the future. It is momentous to note that we have both rural and urban unemployment.

To the rural areas employment, which is the main form, under utilization of labour  in developing countries. It comprises those people who are doing some work but could do more, yet are not seeking extra work. It includes many unpaid household workers and family workers in agriculture. If the number of people working on a farm holding is increased but more land is not cultivated, there is going to be some disguised unemployment. Urban unemployment on the other hand takes form of visible under employment, which comprise those people who are doing work which is below their capacity. A person who is trained but cannot find work that is suitable to his ability and take unskilled jobs for instance is visibly underemployed, if he or she is actively seeking better work.

Unemployment has hit all sectors of the economy one by one. For instance agriculture with its increased in mechanization, which puts people out of work, then industry, which has been affected by the energy crises from the 1970s on and now, the services sector, commerce education  a section previously considered unassailable. Twenty years ago unemployment rate in excess of 2 or 3% would have caused great alarm.

Today an industrialized nation is well if unemployment is kept below 5% or 6% and many developed nations have higher rate.

Unemployment is not just a matter of facts and figures individual drama are the result for the plague that strikes men, women, and unemployment can prove to be tremendous burden especially if his been out of work for a long time will it difficult to have a job and sadly. Some have never been employed again.

Furthermore, while the proportion of young men and women out for more than one year appears to have stabilized in the year April, 1985 to May 1986. The proportion of unemployment for three or more years increased to encompass nearly 100,000 young would be workers. In addition to a doubling of total youth unemployment displacement of the young unemployed into prolong durations of joblessness.

With the advent of rising and persisted unemployment among young people, attempts to explain it cause. As Ashton (1987) points out that such explanation were sought first in demographic changes in the composition in the working population and later in the high wages paid to young workers.

Ashton notes further that growth in the supply of young people to the labour market was in fact at peaked in 1979, before the sharp up turn in rate of youth unemployment in the early 1980s. Thus, an over supply of young people in the labour market can be best only a partial explanation of widespread youth unemployment.

In Nigeria, many years ago secondary school leaver’s after they might have passed their West Africa School Certificate Examination (WASCE) looked forward to the future with confidence. Such school leavers may secure employment easier either of his choice or near choice with promotion prospect. He may decide to go on to continue his higher education or enter any training institution. Unlike the secondary school leaver, the university graduate could choose from a range of opportunity. The University graduate held an opportunity to either go into government service, public cooperation or to commercial company like a bank.

In the past fifteen years, at least since 1970s, there have been high job markets for the secondary school leavers, in 1980s the University graduates have been hit with unemployment. In fact, this unemployment problem what has happened to the output of the secondary schools and universities. However, the concern of this study is to find out or to investigate into the cause and also to find out a possible solution to this enormous problem that threatens the core of out nation’s life stream. This research is also carried out to reduce the problem of unemployment among youths.

• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

One of the main characteristics of urban unemployment in the developing countries is that, the proportion of the young who are affected is generally large. In nearly every case the unemployment rate in the range of 15-34 age groups are equal to or more than, double the rate for the population as a whole, whose unemployment rate is already considerably influenced by the rate for young people. The present study becomes relevant because one of the most important problems facing Nigeria in general and Edo State in particular is that of employment creation. It is very pertinent that those that suppose to constitute labour force should be able bodied youths who are still under the age of 15-45 years.

In our country today, those who can be found in this trauma (unemployment) were mainly the youths, those that posses their secondary school certificate and university first degree do not have a place  in labour force. This unemployment problem had actually pushed some youths to be hardened criminals, armed robbers, drug traffickers, football hooligans marriage breakdown, racial conflict, attempted and actual suicide.

In Edo State, youth unemployment had lead to the manifestation or violence in the  society, for instance the Egor People Congress (EPC) members are unemployed youth, significant percentage of armed robbers are unemployed youth. Youth unemployment has created a balance deficiency in the overall function of Nigeria society, between ages 18-64 which are suppose to be working population of enlarge percentage whereby unemployment rate makes it impossible for this population to work. The dependent population which in fact is higher in percentage shall be sufficiently reimbursed, leading to mass poverty poor natural income.

• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

1. It is significant because it will add to already existing body of knowledge of youth unemployment.
2. It is significant because it will look into the cause and effect of youth unemployment in Egor Local Government in South Nigeria providing visible solutions to unemployment in that area.
3. It will bring to light various factors contributing to unemployment thus providing probable instrument to policy makers.
4. It will classify, locate and verity variables while are expected to form pre-conditions of unemployment making problem solving possible.
   • JUSTIFICATION OF STUDY

This study is justified by its relevance in the area of contribution to the existing literature or materials and helping to solve problem of unemployment in the society.

• RELEVANT RESEARCH QUESTION

What is unemployment?

Who is youth?

Who is unemployed?

• AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To determine the major causes of youth unemployment in Benin, Nigeria.
2. To elicit the relationship (if there is any) between the overall economic characteristics of the country and youth unemployment.
3. To elicit the effectiveness or impact of youth unemployment on the Nigeria industrial sector.
4. To advice and give recommendation where necessary to the policy makers in the country on one hand and youths of the country on the other hand.
   • DEFINITION OF CONCEPT

In the field of social research, there is the need to clarify the meaning of concepts especially the way the investigation made use of them operationally. However, Goode and Halt (1952) defined concepts as logical constructs derived from sense expression, perception of even familiar complex experience. For the purpose of this research, the investigation would make the following research concepts.

Employment: it is a means of having a job or other gainful occupation.

Unemployment: it is important to remember that unemployment cannot simply be defined as the number of people without jobs. Such a wide definition would include children who are too young to work, pensioners who are retired and housewives and others who chose not to take up paid employment. Therefore it is state of a person who wants to work but does not have a job.

Again, for the purpose of this research and in spite of our recognition of different definitions of youths in the literature on the subject, we shall restrict the concept to those young people between the ages of 10-30 years. They constitute about 65% of the total population in Nigeria. They also constitute the majority of the total work force in the country.

Youth Unemployment: this is a total aggregate of able –bodied youth that found themselves in the dilemma of unemployment.

Visible Unemployment: this consists of those who are doing no work, but are trying to get work. The numbers involved may not be very large, but they may include people who have obtained some education and cannot find suitable work.

Residual Unemployment: this is associated with physical and mental disability. There is no country without residual unemployment and because of this; no country can achieved full employment.

Seasonal Unemployment:  this has to do with climate that is labour being employed temporarily due to unfavourable climate condition.

Voluntary Unemployment: where a person decided not to work either because the salaries is not sufficient or because of being a housewife.

Disguised Unemployment: this is the main form of under – utilization of labour in developing countries. This usually occurs where a person is too qualified for the job he is doing, it comprise of those people who are not seeking extra work.

Mass Unemployment: this is another type of unemployment, which look with trade cycle. It is usually characterized by a general fall in aggregate monetary. This happened during the period of depression.

Structural Unemployment: this occurs when jobs are available and there are workers seeking employment, but the workers do not match the jobs.

There are two types of unemployment

Regional: exist where the workers do not live in the area where suitable vacancies are available.

Sectoral: exist where the unemployed person lacks appropriate skills or qualified of full skills.

• GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY

The study will primarily be restricted to the resident of Egor local government area of Edo State. Thus it will be a micro study within the local government aimed at finding out the caused and affects of youths unemployment. The major limitation in this study will be the financial constraints coupled with the time limitation, as a result of my pursuit of academic activities.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Youth unemployment in Edo State has been on the use since the colleges of second republic with vices of corruption and austerity. Then in Egor Local Government rural urban community where industrial activities are not developed and the people are semi – skilled works, traders and farmers.

• METHODOLOGY

This research is designed to embrace both unemployed males and females residing in Egor Local Government of Edo State.

I have selected these sets of people because in hope that with their practical experience as unemployed people they will be able to offer more useful information required for this research.

The streets are as follows:

1. Uwelu Road
2. 1^st Otawere Avenue
3. Ojo Street
4. Otete Road
5. Immaculate Way
6. 2^nd Otawere Avenue
7. Oviasogie Street
8. Iyamu Street
9. Uwasota Road

In each street, thirty (30) respondents will be picked and it should be noted that the sampling frame of this research work is one hundred and twenty respondents (120) which comprise the four streets.

1.11     RESEARCH DESIGN

However, in this research, the research method to adopt in this study is the survey method in order to justify the study. A survey is the type of study in which the researcher selects a sample of respondents on whom questionnaires are administered or the respondents are asked questions directly either in form of questionnaire or verbal interview.

1.12     HYPOTHESIS

Statistical hypotheses can be explained as assertion of two or more types of hypotheses, which are going to be used.

1. Failure to acquire sufficient learning is a cause of youth unemployment

Industrial recession is the cause of youth unemployment