Joblessness in Kenya rose 40pc in a year – survey

A survey released Tuesday morning shows that the unemployment rate in Kenya has increased by 40 percent in the last one year.

The study, conducted by Corporate Staffing Services, a local human resource consulting and recruitment, interviewed 386 respondents in Nairobi.

Sixty-six percent of the surveyed respondents are employed while 34 percent are unemployed, most of them youths.

The report shows that the youth in Kenya face serious challenges including high rates of unemployment and under-employment.

“Job searching has become a full-time job for most of those unemployed,” says Perminus Wainaina, the firm’s Managing Director. “Employees have also raised their expectations which current employers are not meeting and they hope the next employer would.”

With these findings, Wainaina has urged jobseekers to be more self-reliant as opposed to insisting on getting formal employment.

“First what we need to do is address the education system. The fact that you have a degree does not entitle you to a formal job. Those who are running the higher institutions of learning and the job seekers need to understand that what you are being equipped with are skills. These are skills to be self-reliant, whether you are going to be self-reliant within a formal job or you’re going to start your own venture.”

The survey shows the private sector remains the biggest employer in Kenya, absorbing 51.8 percent of the workforce.

According to the findings, 29.5 percent are running their own businesses, 11.2 percent work in public institutions and Parastatals while only 7.6 percent are employed in the NGO sector.