Number Of Employed Kenyans Drop As The Cost Of Living Bites

Tala, Kenya’s largest digital lender has released its Money March Report with stats showing that the cost of living is hitting hard on millions of Kenyan households with unemployment rates continuing to balloon.

According to the report, consumers are highly optimistic (75 percent) despite the declining proportion of those with ‘full-time’ jobs or ‘business’ as their main sources of income and a corresponding rise in those who are unemployed.

The number of Kenyans with full-time jobs has dropped to the lowest in 2024 compared to the similar period in 2022, and 2023. The number of unemployed Kenyans has risen to the highest compared to the last two years according to the report.

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At the same time, the number of Kenyan business owners has dropped to the lowest in 2024 while the number of Kenyans doing side hustlers and part-time jobs has also increased as they juggle jobs to meet the ever-rising cost of living.

The rising cost of living could have led to the closure of some businesses because of the prioritization of personal expenses over investing in business, hence the YoY declining incidence of consumers with alternative income sources, now at 58 percent in 2024 from 80% in 2022.

About two-thirds (64%) of those in full-time employment engage in other alternative income-generating ventures – symbolic that the rising cost of living experienced over the last year has pushed the full-time employed consumers from their comfort zones to earn an extra shilling.

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Generally, consumers are experiencing lower incomes in 2024; only a quarter (26%) have had their income increase in the last 6 months.

The financial situation has worsened for slightly over a third (37%) compared to 30% in 2023. About 1 in 5 (21%) of those with higher incomes feel that their financial situation has worsened despite their increase in earnings; furthermore, a similar proportion (23%) whose income has remained the same feel that their financial situation has worsened – such consumers are prone to taking loans to survive the tough times.

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