Kenya created 824,100 new jobs in 2025, marking a significant improvement from 782,300 the previous year and delivering much-needed relief to the country’s mounting youth unemployment crisis.
According to the 2026 Economic Survey released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), total employment in the country rose to 21.6 million last year, up from 20.8 million in 2024. The new figures reflect a steady expansion in the labour market, even as the economy grapples with structural challenges.
The informal sector continued to dominate job creation, accounting for a massive 86.9 percent of the new positions — roughly 716,800 jobs. Meanwhile, the formal sector showed modest improvement, adding 101,200 new roles compared to just 76,000 in 2024. This represents a welcome reversal from the heavy job losses recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wage employment in the modern sector grew by 3.1 percent to reach 3.31 million, while self-employed and unpaid family workers in the formal segment stood at 179,600.
The job gains offer partial relief for Kenya’s youth, who continue to bear the brunt of unemployment in the region. With an estimated 2.8 million people unemployed nationwide — significantly higher than Tanzania’s 1.46 million and Uganda’s 1.17 million — the pressure on young job seekers remains intense.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of graduates, including over 123,000 university and 162,000 TVET graduates in 2024 alone, flood the job market. However, quality formal opportunities remain limited, with informal jobs still making up 83.8 percent of total employment with little change over the past five years.
The employment growth comes against a backdrop of slightly slower economic expansion. Kenya’s GDP growth eased marginally to 4.6 percent in 2025 from 4.7 percent in 2024, partly due to lower agricultural output and other headwinds such as high credit costs and the effects of the 2024 protests.
For the William Ruto administration, the improved job numbers provide some political breathing space as it rolls out initiatives aimed at absorbing the country’s youthful population into productive employment. However, economists warn that sustained progress will require faster expansion of the formal sector to create decent, well-paying jobs.
While the latest data signals resilience in Kenya’s labour market, experts stress that the quality and sustainability of these jobs will be crucial in converting the country’s demographic dividend into meaningful long-term economic growth and stability.
