Most young people in Kenya who have jobs are working outside the formal economy, according to estimates from the Africa Youth Employment Clock, a data platform developed by World Data Lab.
The data indicates that out of the 21 million youth aged 15-35, 53.4 per cent are employed, 30 per cent are students, 4.2 per cent are unemployed, and 12.4 per cent are inactive, meaning they are jobless but not actively seeking a job.
However, 91 percent of those employed have jobs in the informal sector, a category that includes small-scale trade, casual labour, transport services, and other forms of work that typically operate without formal contracts, social protection, or stable income.
This imbalance between employment levels and job quality defines the country’s youth labour landscape. While it may appear as though the country performs comparatively well in keeping young people economically active, many are working in conditions that offer little long-term stability.
Informal employment often serves as an entry point into the workforce, but for many, it has become a long-term reality rather than a stepping stone to formal work.
The agriculture sector leads in youth employment, with 44.8 per cent working in the sector. Of these, 61.4 per cent are self-employed while 38.6 per cent are wage employees.
The service sector also dominates youth employment, driven by retail, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, hospitality, and transport activities, among others.
The data estimates that this sector employs 4.7 million youth, which translates to about 42.1 per cent of all employed youth.
Another 13.1 per cent are in the industry sector, which includes manufacturing, construction, as well as mining and quarrying.
A gender comparison reveals that among those employed in the services sector, 51.3 per cent are male while 48.7 per cent are female.
In the agriculture sector, young women are more likely to have jobs at 53.17 per cent compared to young men at 46.83 per cent.
The industry sector has a high gender disparity, where men have 82.64 per cent of the jobs compared to 17.36 per cent of women. This can be attributed to the majority of the jobs in the sector being male-dominated fields.
Among unemployed youth, women are more likely to be out of work at just above 58 percent compared to 41 percent of men.
With the country’s youth population continuing to grow, the data underscores a pressing challenge; expanding not just employment, but formal employment.
Across East Africa, a significant divide exists in how youth are employed. Formal job opportunities remain scarce in Uganda and Tanzania, where only four per cent and five per cent of the youth population hold formal positions, respectively.
In contrast, Rwanda has made more progress in this area, with 17 per cent of its youth formally employed.
The sectors driving these economies also differ greatly. Both Uganda and Tanzania rely heavily on agriculture, which employs 62 per cent and 64 per cent of their young working populations. Their service sectors are smaller, accounting for 29 per cent of jobs in Uganda and 27 per cent in Tanzania.
The industrial sector accounts for the fewest jobs at eight per cent for Tanzania and seven per cent for Uganda.
Rwanda’s workforce is more distributed; only 31 per cent work in agriculture, while the service sector has become the primary employer at 49 per cent. Additionally, the industrial sector supports 19 per cent of the Rwandan youth workforce, highlighting a more diversified economic structure compared to its neighbours.
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