The Kenyan government has created over 1.5 million jobs and income opportunities in the last two years, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has announced. Speaking after a status update meeting on the progress of employment and income-generating programmes, Kindiki highlighted key sectors that have contributed to this achievement, including public service, affordable housing, digital jobs, and labour mobility.
According to Kindiki, the government’s initiatives in public service have generated around 400,000 jobs, with 76,000 of those positions filled by newly recruited teachers. He further noted that 200,000 jobs were created under the affordable housing programme and through the construction of fresh produce markets and institutional housing units across the country.
In the rapidly evolving digital economy, Kindiki said approximately 500,000 Kenyans have secured online jobs or income opportunities through government-supported initiatives. However, he emphasized that this sector holds even greater potential if infrastructural and regulatory bottlenecks are addressed.
“The digital jobs programme has shown great promise, but there’s still more we can do. Expanding ICT hubs and streamlining operations in the sector are essential to unlock more opportunities,” said the Deputy President.
He also reported significant progress in Kenya’s labour mobility programme, which has seen 393,000 Kenyans secure employment opportunities abroad in the last two years. Nonetheless, Kindiki acknowledged that more needs to be done, especially considering that over one million young people join the job market annually.
“If we are absorbing less than half of the new job seekers, we are accumulating unemployed youth every year, contributing to the growing youth bulge,” he warned.
To address this, Kindiki revealed plans to accelerate additional initiatives, including the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) and the Kenya Jobs and Economic Transformation (KJET) programme.
The Deputy President reaffirmed the government’s commitment to removing obstacles that hinder job creation and pledged continued investment in programmes aimed at empowering the youth and improving livelihoods across the country.
