Kenya’s employment levels rebounded slightly in 2021 increasing by 921,600 as the economy recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic which saw millions of livelihoods lost, the Economic Survey 2022 released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has revealed.
Rise in Overall Employment Levels in Various Sectors
According to the Economic Survey, employment levels outside small-scale agriculture and pastoralist activities stood at 18.3 million people up from 17.4 million in 2020.
Further, the private sector recorded a growth of 6.8 per cent in employment levels compared to a decline of 10 per cent in 2020.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the sector employed 1.9 million Kenyans from 1.8million in 2020. Even so, the number is still slightly lower than the 2.1million employed in 2019.
The share of private-sector employment was 68.3 per cent in 2021, higher than the previous year which stood at 67.8 per cent.
In the emploment sector, the accommodation and food services activities recorded the largest increase in jobs at 23.9 per cent to 61,700 from 49,800 jobs in 2020 as hotels, bars and restaurants reopened following the end of Covid-19 led closures in 2020.
Other sectors to record a higher employment count in the private sector includes administrative and support service activities, education and ICT.
Wage employment in the modern sector also recorded a growth of six per cent to 2.9 million in 2021 compared to 2.7 million in the prior year.
This was attributed to a partial resumption of international travel, and a broad-based recovery in the manufacturing sector.
Employment levels in the public sector increased by 4.3 per cent to 923,200 from 884,600. The increase was mainly attributed to recruitment in the civil service for essential services.
The informal sector which employs the majority of Kenyans employed 753,800 more people during the year.
Read also; Pandemic Worsens Kenya’s Unemployment Prospects in Q2
