Suvery: Increased workload in private firms lead to job creation

A survey by Stanbic Bank has revealed that for the consecutive month in January, Kenyan businesses added to their workforces. 

The survey shows that the growth rate in the workforces was faster than that determined in the previous survey period. 

According to the findings, the main factors leading companies to hire new staff are increased workloads and backlog volumes. 

“Capacity at Kenyan firms came under pressure in January, as the level of incomplete business rose at a solid rate over the month,” the survey reveals.

A rise in new work inflows and delays in input arrival were cited as the cause of higher backlogs. 

IHS Markit compiles the Stanbic Bank Kenya PMITM. The compilation includes responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 private sector companies in the country.

In December 2020, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics released a report indicating that about 1.18 million young unemployed Kenyans had given up the search for a job in the third quarter of the year.

The report showed that 54.95 percent of the 2.15 million people aged between 20 and 34 who were  unemployed did not attempt to look for a job four weeks to the end of September. 

For youthful Kenyans who were not searching for jobs in the July-September 2020 period, the number was slightly lower than 1.58 million or 54.02 percent of 2.93 million jobless youth in the second quarter.