You are more likely to create your own employment or be employed in the informal sector than in other sectors, according to the latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
The data released on Tuesday shows Kenya's economy added 782,300 new jobs in 2024, with a majority being in the private sector. This was 7.8 per cent fewer jobs than those created in 2023.
KNBS data shows that most of the new jobs created, 90 per cent, are in the informal sector, which includes small businesses and casual work, and grew by 4.2 per cent, reaching 17.4 million workers. But even here, growth slowed compared to 2023.
The formal sector, which includes regular jobs with set wages, created 78,600 new jobs. Wage employment in this sector grew by 2.4 per cent to reach about 3.2 million people. Self-employed workers and unpaid family helpers in this sector also increased slightly.
In the private sector, the biggest job providers were manufacturing with 15.9 per cent, agriculture 14.1 per cent, and wholesale and retail trade 12.6 per cent.
Jobs in hotels and restaurants grew by 6.1 per cent, while those in education and support services each rose by 3.4 per cent.
Public sector jobs grew by 3.1 per cent. Most of these were in education, at 45.2 per cent, and public administration, at 34.4 per cent. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) increased its workforce by 5.2 per cent.
"The Teachers Service Commission (TSC), which is the largest employer in the public sector, registered the highest growth of 5.2 per cent in 2024. Ministries and Other Extra-Budgetary Institutions registered an increase of 1.3 per cent, while Employment in County Governments increased by 2.3 per cent over the same period," reads part of the KNBS report.
"Employment in Corporations controlled by the Government increased by 1.2 per cent while that in Parastatal bodies similarly grew by 1.2 per cent in 2024," the report reads.
KNBS revealed that as more people got jobs, the total wage bill, the amount employers paid to workers, rose by 7.2 per cent to nearly Ksh3 trillion. The private sector paid the most, making up 70.6 per cent of the total.
Average annual earnings also went up from Ksh894,200 in 2023 to Ksh933,100 in 2024. The actual value of these earnings dropped slightly after adjusting the inflation.
Some sectors saw high growth. Jobs in Export Promotion Zones (EPZs) rose by 18.9 per cent, and employment in telecom companies increased by 7.7 per cent. Cable TV operators had the biggest jump, up 37.8 per cent
Meanwhile, minimum wages in major cities were raised by 6 per cent in October 2024, pushing the average monthly wage in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, and Nakuru to Ksh25,300.
