8,000 job seekers besiege UNTH Enugu for 10 openings

The unemployment rate in Enugu is one of the highest in Nigeria.
At least 8,000 job seekers stormed the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital to interview for the position of administrative officers, on Thursday.
The applicants responded to the university’s local advertisement for Administrative Officer II. At least, 5,000, were shortlisted for the interview. The position the job seekers interviewed for – Administrative Officer II – is one of over thirty categories of workers the university advertised recently.
Although the university did not indicate the number of administrative officer vacancies it hopes to employ, a staff of the university told PREMIUM TIMES not more than 10 applicants will be employed in each category through the process.
The employment drive began earlier this week. The previous day, about the same number of jobseekers besieged the school to be interviewed for positions in paramedics and few auxiliary jobs.
The job seekers, mostly young graduates, overwhelmed the school’s facilities. Many waited under the sun for hours to be interviewed. Others sat on bricks for an opportunity to be interviewed.

Enugu, formerly the administrative capital of south east Nigeria, is the largest city in the zone. it has at least six tertiary institutions but also one of the highest unemployment and crime rate in Nigeria. Nigeria Bureau of Statistics says at least 28 per cent of employable residents of the state are unemployed; a figure many say is grossly underestimated.
Enugu’s unemployment rate is more than 100 percent higher than the 12 percent recorded in neighbouring Anambra state.
In August this year, at least 6,251 job seekers applied for 400 vacancies at the Universal Basic Education Enugu, with an expected monthly salary of N18, 000.00.
The job rush at UNTH exemplifies the scorching job shortage in Nigeria. From a record low of 5.3 per cent in 2006, the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics admits it has worsened by 400.5 percent to 24 percent at the end of 2011.
The World Bank estimates that Nigeria’s youth unemployment is high up at 38 percent. Many Nigerians argue World Bank and government estimates are conservative.
“In a family of five kids, you will hardly find more than two employed,” Chinasa Ugwu, one of the applicants, who sought to be an Environmental Officer II,  said. Interviewing for her category was cancelled by the university.

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