NAIROBI, Kenya June 1 – While 735,711 youth remained unemployed between January and March 2020, only 28,114 people aged 50-64 were jobless under the same period highlighting that youth are the worst hit lot.
According to the latest statistics by KNBS, the rate of unemployment in this group (50-64) was averaged at 1.2 percent of the total 4.9 rates of unemployment in the country over the period under review.
As compared to the previous quarter, the number of older unemployed Kenyans dropped by 12,182 from the 40,296 recorded in the third quarter of 2019.
In its quarterly labor force report, KNBS noted that youth aged 20- 24 had the highest proportion of the unemployed at 12.5 percent while those aged 55 – 59 years had the least unemployment rate of 0.3 percent.
The percentage of youth in Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) was recorded at 15.7 percent in quarter 1 of 2020, a 2.4 percent increase from the level recorded in quarter 4 of 2019 at the time of the survey
The report released by KNBS Director General Zacharia Mwangi also noted that labor force participation(those currently underemployment and seeking employment) also reduced to 68.7 percent down from 70.2 percent recorded in quarter 4 of 2019.
“The age group 50 – 54 years recorded the highest rate at 91.8 per cent, while the age group 15 – 19 years recorded the lowest rate at 25.7 per cent. Notable, however, there was a 10.4 percentage points increase in the participation rate for those aged 15 – 19 compared to the same quarter in 2019,” the report added.
