Unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic: mental health, quality of life and labour market outcome in Nigeria
| Date | 13 May 2024 |
| Pages | 1215-1227 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-01-2024-0007 |
| Published date | 13 May 2024 |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Social inclusion |
| Author | Lucyann Chikaodinaka Akunna,Uche Abamba Osakede,Olayinka Omolara Adenikinju |
Unemployment during the COVID-19
pandemic: mental health, quality of life
and labour market outcome in Nigeria
Lucyann Chikaodinaka Akunna, Uche Abamba Osakede and Olayinka Omolara Adenikinju
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of unemployment during the COVID-19
pandemic on mental health, quality of life and the labour market outcome across North and Southern
Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach –Data was obtainedfrom staff laid off in selected tertiaryinstitutions in
North East and South West Nigeria using a self-administered questionnaire with a total sample size of
185. Findingsare shown using the heteroscedasticlinear regression and descriptivestatistics.
Findings –The results showed a significant negative effect of unemployment during the pandemic on
mental healthand quality of life. Less than half of those laid off are reabsorbedinto the labour market with
the majorityin the South than the Northern regionand most are in self-employment.
Practical implications –The coronavirus pandemic negatively affected the human race,with a huge
socio-economicimpact linked to health and well-being. This reality callsfor attention to the role it played
on mental health and the quality of life as well as how it has influenced the labour market. Labour
empowerment during a pandemic is key to cushion the effect of pandemics on health and the labour
market. This can be in the form of skill empowerment and increased access to fundsfor business start-
ups to enable self-employment that typifiesthe labour market after a pandemic. This in turn will reduce
mentalhealth challenges and low quality of lifeassociated with pandemics.
Originality/value –To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first in the literature that
provides empiricalevidence of the effect of unemployment during the pandemicon well-being captured
using mental health and the quality of life in Nigeria. Findings on labour market outcomes due to the
pandemicand across regions in Nigeria are alsoscarce in the literature.
Keywords Unemployment, Mental health, Quality of life, COVID-19 pandemic,
Labour market outcome
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered shock waves in the global economy and disrupted
supply chains, livelihood sources, and firm-level output (World Bank, 2024). In Nigeria,
many workers were disengaged during the pandemic, especially in the private sector.
Some layoffs followed the inability to cover production costs due to economic meltdown.
This brought a significant increase in the rate of unemployment in Nigeria (Contreras-
Gonz
alez et al.,2022
). Before the outbreak of COVID-19, Nigeria’s unemployment rate was
already sky-high at 23.1%, while underemployment stood at 20.1%, according to the 2020
report by the National Bureauof Statistics (NBS). With the emergence of COVID-19, the total
unemployment rate in Nigeria increased to as high as 33.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020
(NBS, 2020,NBS, 2023). This deterioration in the Nigerian labour market corresponded with
various advisory or mandated stay-at-home orders implemented in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic. This demands that states and localities implement these orders to
Lucyann Chikaodinaka
Akunna, Uche Abamba
Osakede and Olayinka
Omolara Adenikinju are all
based at the Department of
Economics, Bowen
University, Iwo, Nigeria.
DOI 10.1108/MHSI-01-2024-0007 VOL. 28 NO. 6 2024, pp. 1215-1227, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2042-8308 jMENTAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL INCLUSION jPAGE 1215
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