List Of Public, Private Sectors With The Highest Number Of Salaried Employees In Kenya

• The education sector stands out as the leading employment sector in Kenya, featuring prominently in both public and private wage employment
• As of 2023, Kenya's total workforce included 3,138,300 wage employees and 172,400 self-employed and unpaid family workers
• Despite increased governmental spending on the affordable housing program, the public-sector construction industry showed relatively low employment numbers, with only 9,700 salaried employees

Elijah Ntongai, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, has more than three years of financial, business, and technology research expertise, providing insights into Kenyan and global trends.

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) released the 2024 economic survey revealing data on the employment state in Kenya.

According to the report, the total number of wage employees in Kenya between 2019 and 2023 stood at 3,138,300 in 2023, and 172,400 were self-employed and unpaid family workers, while 16,685,600 work in the informal sector.

The leading industries with the highest employment levels in the public sector were Education and Public Administration and Defence.

These compulsory social security sectors accounted for 44.9% and 34.6% of total employment in Kenya.

Top sectors with the highest number of salaried employees

The number of employees listed below are those that are on monthly wage employment.

Private sector

1. Manufacturing: 340,600 employees
2. Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles: 270,700 employees
3. Education: 234,600 employees
4. Construction: 226,300 employees
5. Information and communication: 145,600 employees
6. Human health and social work activities: 115,500 employees
7. Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use: 119,300 employees
8. Accommodation and food service activities: 97,000 employees
9. Financial and insurance activities: 71,900 employees
10. Professional, scientific and technical activities: 68,400 employees

Public sector

1. Education: 445,400 employees
2. Public administration and defence; compulsory social security: 343,900 employees
3. Human health and social work activities: 53,500 employees
4. Agriculture, forestry and fishing: 41,900 employees
5. Transportation and storage: 23,100 employees
6. Manufacturing: 21,700 employees
7. Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply: 16,100 employees
8. Financial and insurance activities: 11,300 employees
9. Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities: 10,200 employees
10. Construction: 9,700 employees

Notably, the number of wage employees in the public-sector construction industry remains low despite the increased spending on affordable housing programme construction.

Increase in construction workers in Kenya

Earlier, TUKO.co.ke reported that the construction sector in Kenya experienced a growth of 3.0% in 2023, a slight decrease from the 4.1% growth observed in 2022.

The growth in the construction sector was largely driven by increased government spending, particularly on the Affordable Housing Programme.

Employment in the construction sector increased by 1.9%, rising from 231.7 thousand individuals in 2022 to 236.0 thousand in 2023.

Proofreading by Nyambura Guthua, journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke