This archive report was first published on 5 November 2019.
As the economy struggles, job losses are on the rise, with one in three companies listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange reportedly hurting from a toxic mix of factors.
According to estimates, massive job layoffs are capturing the collective pain of these large firms, which are also among the biggest employers. These companies have either reported losses or a sharp drop in revenues and profitability.
The reasons given by individual firms for their financial losses include delayed payments from the State for supplies, rampant fraud, and high costs of doing business.
Despite the Government's claim of creating over 800,000 jobs over the last five years, experts say these numbers might not reflect the reality on the ground. The megaprojects that the Government has invested billions in do not appear to be creating the much-needed jobs.
Analysts suggest that one way to create jobs is to channel these billions into sectors that have a major impact on employment creation, such as agriculture, which accounts for the bulk of workers in the country.
However, agriculture and other sectors like jua kali and small and medium enterprises have faced neglect, making it difficult for them to survive beyond the third year of being created.
