According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), An estimated 735,711 Kenyan youths were unemployed between January and March 2020, in the same period, some 287,481 Kenyans lost their jobs.
The Quarterly Labour Force Report for the quarter one of 2020 paints a dim picture for Kenyans who were already battling with an economy that was heading to a recession.
KNBS shows that youths between ages 20 and 24 made the highest number of those out of the job market at 241,728 during the period. Those aged 15 to 19 years were worst affected during the first quarter as the numbers in this category spiked up by 6pc to 139,097 individuals.
A total number of 228,466 youths aged between 25-29 were also without work during the quarter. “Youth aged between 20-24 had the highest proportion of the unemployed at 12.5pc. On the other hand, those aged 55-59 had the least unemployment rate of 0.3 pc,” the report said.
The number of employed Kenyans dropped to 17.8 million (1.7pc) during the first three months of 2020 from 18.1 million in December 2019.
The data shows that 2.8 million potential employees were either unavailable or they were themselves job seekers.
“The relaxed unemployment rate for the first quarter 2020 was 13.7pc showing deterioration from the 12.4pc recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019, ” read the KNBS report.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, in May, the ministry of health had estimated 300,000 people in Kenya had lost their jobs since Kenya reported its first coronavirus case on March 13th.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had also warned that more than 500,000 jobs would be lost in the next six months should the cases of coronavirus infections continue to rise.
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