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Sim cards from the major licensed mobile telecommunications companies in Kenya.
Kenya’s telecommunications industry has shed jobs for the first time in more than a decade, signalling shifting fortunes in a sector long considered one of the most resilient employers.
Fresh data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) shows that the number of persons employed by mobile network operators (MNOs) and by mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) fell by 2.4 per cent to 11,710 in the year ended June 2025, compared to a staff count of 11,997 recorded the year before.
This marks the first annual contraction since 2014, interrupting 11 years of consistent job growth.
The decline points to intensifying pressures in the telecoms market, where operators are racing to manage costs while rolling out new technologies such as 5G and digital financial services.
The dip also comes at a time when Kenya is grappling with sluggish formal jobs growth across the economy, with official data showing that only 78,600 new formal jobs were created last year compared to 700,000 new jobs in the informal sector.
“The number of persons employed by MNOs and MVNOs declined by 2.4 per cent to 11,710 as of June 30, 2025. The male-to-female ratio was 56:44 compared to 57:43 in June 2024,” said the CA in its latest review of the sector.
The contraction comes despite massive growth in customer numbers and usage, as mobile SIM subscriptions rose to 76.7 million by June this year, translating to a penetration rate of 146.3 per cent, while mobile money subscriptions climbed to 47.7 million, or 91 per cent penetration.
The mobile SIM subscriptions stood at 68.9 million in June 2024, translating to a penetration rate of 133.7 per cent, while mobile money subscriptions totalled 39.8 million at the time, representing a 77.3 per cent penetration rate.
Many subscribers have multiple lines, resulting in the number of gadgets and services uptake exceeding the national population.
In 2014, when the last annual decline in staff numbers was recorded, jobs shrank as telcos consolidated operations after years of heavy capital investment in network rollout, which was followed by more than a decade of steady expansion driven by mobile money and data services.
Figures from the industry regulator show that employment in the mobile sub-sector first crossed the 10,000 mark at the end of June 2023, before plateauing during the subsequent year and eventually falling last June.
The latest data point to a market at a staffing peak, with tech-powered efficiency gains and digital channels reducing the need for larger teams even as revenues rise.
