Where You Should Get A Job In Kenya Right Now: Report

Amidst the rampant unemployment crisis in Kenya, getting a job in the formal sector is looking more like a pipe dream for many Kenyans, who are now left with two options, according to the latest report from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). 

The report titled Economic Survey 2025 revealed that the informal sector created 703,700 new jobs, which constituted 90 per cent of all new jobs created, with the exclusion of small-scale agriculture. This is out of 782,300 jobs created in Kenya's economy in 2024 alone.

Further, the total number of self-employed and unpaid family workers within the modern sector was estimated to have increased by 1.8 per cent to 175,500 thousand in 2024.

In comparison, 78,600 jobs were created in the formal sector, and despite reflecting a growth of 2.4 per cent, it is proof that the formal sector, with its unpredictability, is not as appealing to Kenyans as it used to be some years ago.

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Director General Macdonald Obudho during a past media briefing. /THE INFORMER

Employment in the formal and informal sectors, excluding small-scale agriculture, went up from 20 million in 2023 to 20.8 million in 2024 as the overall nominal wage bill rose by 7.2 per cent to just under Ksh 3 trillion in 2024. 

The private sector accounted for 70.6 per cent of the total nominal wage bill. In the formal sector, nominal average annual earnings per person increased from Ksh 832,700 in 2023 to Ksh 881,400 in 2024.

"Total employment excluding rural small-scale agriculture and pastoral activities stood at 20.8 million persons in 2024, up from 20.0 million persons recorded in 2023. Wage employment in the modern sector increased by 2.4 per cent to 3,213.8 thousand persons in 2024," the report read in part.

"The informal sector created 703.7 thousand new jobs, which constituted 90.0 per cent of all new jobs created, with the exclusion of small-scale agriculture. Further, the total number of self-employed and unpaid family workers within the modern sector was estimated to have increased by 1.8 per cent to 175.5 thousand in 2024."

Still, the modern sector wage employment by industry and sector for the period 2020 to 2024 increased by 2.4 per cent to 3.2 million people in 2024. 

The leading industries in the private sector in 2024, providing the highest employment numbers, were Manufacturing, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing, as well as Wholesale and Retail Trade, accounting for 15.9, 14.1, and 12.6 per cent of the total private sector employment, respectively.

Private sector employment in Accommodation and Food Service Activities increased by 6.1 per cent to 102,900 employees in 2024. 

During the review period, other industries that recorded notable growth were: Other Service Activities at 4.8 per cent, Education and Administrative Support Service Activities each at 3.4 per cent.

In the public sector, wage employment registered a growth of 3.1 per cent in 2024 compared to 5.9 per cent recorded in 2023.

"During the year under review, Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning Supply recorded the highest growth of 6.9 per cent. This was followed by Human Health and Social Work Activities and Education, which registered growths of 5.5 and 3.8 per cent in 2024, respectively," added the report.

"Industries with the highest employment levels in the public sector were Education and Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security, which accounted for 45.2 per cent and 34.4 per cent of total employment in the sector, respectively, over the same period."

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. 

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 also examined wage employment by industry and sex for 2023 and 2024, with the Human Health and Social Work Activities recording the highest proportion of females among the total wage employees within the sector, making up more than half of the total wage employees engaged between 2023 and 2024.

"On the contrary, female employees registered the lowest proportion of female employees to the total wage employees within the Mining and Quarrying sector at 13.2 and 14.2 per cent in 2023 and 2024, respectively. This is one of the sectors that missed the one-third gender rule as stipulated in the constitution.  

"The number of females in wage employment increased by 5.0 per cent to 1,226.9 thousand in 2024. The education sector had the highest proportion of females, accounting for 28.6 per cent of all females employed across the industries. Casual employment accounted for 17.4 per cent of total wage employment during the review period," added the report.