Causes of Youth Unemployment in Ijebu Ode Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Youth unemployment has become one of the most persistent socio-economic challenges confronting Nigeria, with severe implications for economic development, social stability, and human capital utilization. In Ijebu Ode Local Government Area of Ogun State, increasing numbers of educated youths remain unemployed despite various government interventions and rising educational attainment. Existing studies on youth unemployment have largely focused on national and urban contexts, with limited empirical evidence on community-specific determinants and locally grounded measurements of the problem. This study investigated the causes of youth unemployment in Ijebu Ode Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria. The study examined the demographic characteristics of youths and their perceptions regarding the causes of unemployment, as well as gender differences in these perceptions. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. The target population comprised youths aged 15–35 years residing in Ijebu Ode Local Government Area, from which a sample of 400 respondents was selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure, with 80 respondents drawn from each of five purposively selected communities. Data were collected using the researcher-developed Youth Unemployment Causes Questionnaire (YUCQ), a validated instrument with a Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.87. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations, while Independent Samples t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were employed to test hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that all twenty identified variables were perceived as significant causes of youth unemployment, with a grand mean of 3.20. Corruption and nepotism in hiring practices, lack of vocational and technical training, inadequate access to startup capital, poor educational quality, and curriculum-labour market mismatch emerged as the most prominent determinants. The study further revealed no statistically significant gender difference in perceptions of the causes of youth unemployment (t = -0.90, p = .373), indicating that both male and female youths share similar views regarding the factors driving unemployment. The study concludes that youth unemployment in Ijebu Ode Local Government Area is predominantly driven by structural, institutional, and educational factors rather than gender-related considerations. It recommends comprehensive curriculum reforms that integrate vocational, entrepreneurial, and digital skills development, expansion of youth-friendly startup financing programmes, transparent and merit-based recruitment practices, and increased investment in industrial development, infrastructure, and career guidance initiatives to enhance youth employability and promote sustainable economic growth.