700,000 new jobs were created last year - Waiguru - Capital Business
Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Waiguru said 625,000 jobs created in the informal sector, while 116,000 of them were in the formal sector. The public sector generated 26,000 new jobs/FILE

Kenya

700,000 new jobs were created last year – Waiguru

Waiguru said 625,000 jobs created in the informal sector, while 116,000 of them were in the formal sector. The public sector generated 26,000 new jobs/FILE

Waiguru said 625,000 jobs created in the informal sector, while 116,000 of them were in the formal sector. The public sector generated 26,000 new jobs/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 29 – Over 742,000 jobs were created in 2013 according to the Economic Survey 2014 released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

Launching the survey on Tuesday, Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru said 625,000 jobs created in the informal sector, while 116,000 of them were in the formal sector. The public sector generated 26,000 new jobs.

The growth of jobs in the public sector was mainly attributed to expansion of the devolved structures and employment of teachers.

The number of persons employed in the County Governments increased from 37,700 in 2012 to 41,700 last year.

On the other hand, job increase in the informal sector was due to expansion in areas that are labour intensive like wholesale, retail and trade, Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) and construction.

“This is a good improvement but there are still a number of interventions needed that we will include especially in the coming budget that has already been presented to Parliament to help spur more job creation,” Waiguru said.

The sectors that recorded double digit growth in job creation in the private sector were agriculture, forestry and fishing, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles.

However employment in transport and storage industry registered a slower growth of 1.5 percent compared to 3.6 percent recorded in 2012.

In the public sector, the activities that contributed to increase in employment were education, public administration and defence, and compulsory social security.

Meanwhile, the country’s economy grew by 4.7 percent in 2013 compared to 4.6 percent in 2012, which was slower than anticipated due to a decline in the agricultural sector, drop in exports, higher interest rates, and reduction in spending.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

The slight growth was due to a favourable macro-economic environment, stable inflation, lower international oil prices and lower electricity costs.

“Despite the fact that we had significant growth in the financial intermediation at 7.2 percent and manufacturing sector at 4.2 percent, they did not have a significant impact on our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Our main contributor to the economy is the agriculture sector which was suppressed,” she noted.

The agriculture sector grew by 2.9 percent from 4.2percent in 2012. Apart from rice and wheat, most of the cereal crops like maize and beans recorded significant declines in production during the period under review.

However the year recorded notable increases in the output of processed milk products.

Advertisement

More on Capital Business