How Much Does It Cost A Business To Create A Job In Kenya?
KEY POINTS
The SME sector has always been the backbone of Kenya’s economy. It is also the largest employer in Kenya. According to the stats by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the SME sector in Kenya employs about 86 percent of Kenya’s population and contributes about 45.5 percent to Kenya’s gross domestic product.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The census numbers showed that 75 percent of the 47.6 million population in Kenya is under the age of 35. The elderly population (65 years and above) was recorded at 1,870,493.
While the population of 35 years and below was quoted to have increased by 5,463,532 from 2009, its proportional share dropped by 3 percent. Children between 0 and 14 years was 18,541,982 in 2019 compared to 16,571,877 in 2009.
By Menya Mwambeu
The unemployment numbers in Kenya are scary. Numbers given by government agencies such as the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) will make it seem as though the numbers are lower, but the reality on the ground speaks volumes.
But we cannot run away from the numbers. Let us start with the “official quoted” figures. According to the stats, the unemployment rate in Kenya decreased to 7.20 percent in the third quarter of 2020 from 10.40 percent in the second quarter of 2020.
At the same time, the unemployment rate in Kenya increased to 6.6 percent in the first quarter of 2021, against 5.4 percent in the previous quarter. It was also higher than in Q1 2020 when 5.2 percent of the population aged 15-64 years were unemployed.
Unemployment numbers in Kenya are always contradicting. At one point, an official from the National Employment Authority (NEA) said that Kenya’s unemployment rate had hit 43.5 percent. This was two years ago. Of course, the news was “killed” before it took hold of the ears of many Kenyans.
But if you want to know the reality on the ground, just look at the mammoth crowds that Kenyan politicians manage to pull on any particular working day. Huge crowds, 90 percent being the youth and people of working age.
It is estimated that at least 30,000 Kenyans graduate annually from various institutions of high learning and are channeled into the saturated job-hunting market. The employment rate in the formal sector is just 3 percent. This leaves about 97 percent who scramble for any available opportunity.
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The population numbers
Numbers don’t lie. Kenya is a country of youth if the 2019 Population and Census results are something to go by. The census numbers showed that 75 percent of the 47.6 million population in Kenya is under the age of 35.
According to the same census numbers, the elderly population (65 years and above) was recorded at 1,870,493. This is 3.9 percent of the total population. This was however an increase of 538,220 from 2009 when they were recorded at 1,332,273.
While the population of 35 years and below was quoted to have increased by 5,463,532 from 2009, its proportional share dropped by 3 percent. Children between 0 and 14 years was 18,541,982 in 2019 compared to 16,571,877 in 2009.
At the same time, adolescents between the age of 10-19 were 11,631,929 in 2019. The number of those between the age of 18 and 34 years constituted 13,777,600. The numbers placed the working age of 15 to 64 years at 27,151,134 in 2019.
Based on the above numbers, there is a need to create more jobs. Forget about the rhetoric being peddled by politicians on how many jobs they are planning to create. Jobs are not given birth to. They are manufactur