782,000 New Jobs Created; See 5 Sectors Hiring Most Kenyans

Hello Moneymakers, Kubasu here. In this newsletter, we’re covering the creation of 782,000 new jobs, the sectors employing the most people, and Treasury CS John Mbadi’s explanation on why the removal of zero-rated products was necessary.

New 782,000 Jobs & Sectors Hiring More

On Tuesday, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) released its annual Economic Survey Report, revealing that the Kenya Kwanza regime created 782,000 new jobs in 2024.

According to the report, 90 percent of these new jobs were in the informal sector.

KNBS further showed that informal employment accounts for 83.6 percent of Kenya’s total workforce, representing 17.4 million people, while the formal sector employs only 3.4 million.

What This Means: According to KNBS, a Kenyan is far more likely to land a job—or create their own—in the informal sector than secure formal employment.

Catch Up Quick: The 782,300 new jobs created in 2024 represent a 7.8 percent drop compared to those created in 2023.

The report also showed that the manufacturing sector offered the most employment, recruiting 347,294 people, followed by agriculture (308,865), wholesale and retail (276,127), education (242,536), and construction (223,383).

Yes, But: An earlier KNBS forecast indicated that Kenya’s unemployment rate stands at 7.23 percent in 2024, with 1.95 million people currently jobless.

CS John Mbadi Justifies Removing Zero-Rated Basic Items

A week ago, when the Finance Bill 2025 was finally released, the Ministry of Treasury emphasized its intention to transfer certain zero-rated products to the VAT-exempt category.

These included raw materials (whether locally produced or imported) supplied to pharmaceutical companies for medicine manufacturing, sugarcane delivered from farms to factories, locally assembled and manufactured mobile phones, electric bicycles and buses, solar and lithium-ion batteries, and packaging materials for tea and coffee.

This shift means that businesses previously eligible for tax refunds under the zero-rated provision will no longer be able to claim those refunds once the goods are reclassified as tax-exempt.

Disgruntlement: Traders and consumers in the affected sectors objected to the proposal, arguing that the reclassification would increase the cost of these goods rather than lower it.

While appearing on Citizen TV last night, Treasury CS John Mbadi offered a different perspective.

What John Mbadi Said:“Tax-exempt simply means that [the goods] don’t attract value-added tax. Zero-rated attracts tax at zero percent. One would argue that that is the same thing.

"The only difference is that if your goods are zero-rated, then you are allowed to claim input tax. So it’s correct to argue that a zero-rated commodity may be cheaper than an exempt commodity.

"But experience has shown that a lot of the benefit of zero-rating does not go to the consumer.

"Secondly, this zero-rating has resulted in what we call tax expenditure at unimaginable proportions—a lot of it fictitious, a lot of it due to tax cheats.

"What we are trying to do is avoid situations where someone files returns to KRA demanding input tax refunds that cannot be justified."

The CS put the estimated cost of such tax expenditure at a staggering Ksh400 billion.

Kenyan Workers' Real Wages Fall for Fifth Year

Kenyan workers’ salaries failed to keep up with the rising cost of living for the fifth year in a row, with real wages dropping by 0.3% in 2024, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Employers remain hesitant to raise pay despite rising prices, continuing a trend that saw a 4.1% wage drop in 2023, a report by Business Daily has shown.

The economic slowdown—driven by floods, costly loans, and anti-Finance Bill protests—further strained living standards. Average monthly real pay has declined from Sh62,256 in 2020 to Sh55,451 in 2024, a loss of Sh6,805 in purchasing power.

Kenya's Top Exports

A report released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) on Tuesday revealed that Kenya received Ksh674.1 billion in remittance inflows in 2024. Uganda emerged as the top export destination, with goods valued at Ksh125.9 billion, followed by the United States at Ksh88.9 billion.

According to the report, Kenya’s total exports grew by 10.4 percent to reach Ksh1.1 trillion. Horticultural products led the way at Ksh203.6 billion, followed by tea (Ksh189.1 billion), apparel and clothing (Ksh56.8 billion), coffee (Ksh38.4 billion), and animal and vegetable oils (Ksh30.3 billion).

On the import side, Kenya’s total imports rose by 3.6 percent to Ksh2.7 trillion. Petroleum products topped the list at Ksh552 billion, followed by industrial machinery (Ksh312.9 billion), animal and vegetable oils (Ksh139.2 billion), plastic articles (Ksh113.4 billion), and iron and steel (Ksh101 billion).

Most of Kenya’s imports originated from China, valued at Ksh576 billion, followed by the UAE at Ksh337 billion and India at Ksh263 billion.

Motorist Association Opposes Proposed Toll Fees for Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway

The Motorist Association of Kenya has strongly opposed the proposed toll fees for the upcoming Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway, arguing that the charges—estimated at Ksh12 to Ksh13 per kilometre—are not economically viable for road users, Nairobi Leo reported. They criticized the imposition of such fees, calling it deceptive and immoral to let foreign entities profit from public infrastructure, potentially costing motorists up to Ksh5,000 per trip if no toll cap is implemented.

Everstrong Capital, the American firm behind the project, defended the toll pricing, stating it would be lower than the current Nairobi Expressway rates. They emphasized efforts to minimize costs by optimizing construction and capital expenses, which would, in turn, reduce toll charges. Construction of the expressway is scheduled to begin in 2026 under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

KRA Plans to Procure Cameras for Border Officers

A report by Business Daily has indicated that the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is pushing for increased scrutiny of the approximately 600 containers entering the country daily by procuring cameras for its border staff. This move highlights the growing mistrust surrounding the tax authority. KRA intends to purchase 350 verification devices for its customs officers at border points, allowing them to capture photos and videos while inspecting containers suspected of concealing goods.