The Socio-Economic Impact of Youth Unemployment in Nigeria: A Case Study of Idah Local Government, Kogi State

Abstract

The high rate of unemployment among the youths in Nigeria has arguably contributed to the high rate of poverty and insecurity in the country. The aim of the study therefore is to investigate the socio-economic consequences of youth unemployment in Nigeria. A case study of Idah Government Area of Kogi State. Simple Random Sampling (SRS) was employed in the selection of 300 residents of the local government surveyed for the study. The study revealed that the causes of unemployment in Idah include bad governance, lack of industries, lack of employable skills and rapid growth of the population. Also, the socio-economic consequences of youth unemployment in Idah Local Government are poverty, political thuggery and kidnapping for ransom. The study recommends among others, the provision of credit facilities to the unemployed to embark on viable business ventures, improvement in the quality of governance and provisioning of skill acquisition programmes, as measures to mitigate youth unemployment and its societal consequences.

Keywords: Socio-economic impact, Youth, Unemployment, Local government, Nigeria