The World Bank has predicted a rise in unemployment for Kenya in 2024, highlighting a bleak outlook for the country’s labor market.
The bank’s report attributes this to sluggish economic growth, persistently high inflation, and policy uncertainty, compounded by global economic pressures.
Further exacerbating the situation are disruptions in Kenya’s education system, which have directly impacted over 500,000 non-teaching staff in secondary schools. These staff members, including lab technicians, cleaners, cooks, and secretaries, lost their jobs due to the shift to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) and the introduction of Junior Secondary Schools (JSS).
Albert Njeru, the Secretary General of the Kenya Union of Domestic Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals, and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA), confirmed that affected workers were given layoff notices last month, with the cuts taking effect on January 1, 2025.
Despite the challenges, the Economic Survey 2024 reveals a mixed picture. Kenya’s formal and informal sectors added 848,200 jobs in 2023, bringing the total number of jobs to 20 million. Wage employment in the modern sector grew by 4.1%, creating 122,800 new jobs.
However, rising policy and structural challenges threaten to undermine this progress, with the World Bank projecting a reversal in job creation due to challenges in maintaining economic stability.
A survey of CEOs by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows that many employers are reluctant to hire, citing rising business costs, high taxes, and global factors as barriers.
Many firms are instead focusing on cost mitigation, risk management, and marketing efforts, with high taxes and reduced consumer demand continuing to stifle growth.
This leaves many Kenyans, especially the youth, facing limited opportunities as they are expected to bear the brunt of the worsening job market.
