June 28, 2016
Nairobi, Kenya
World Bank says Kenyans less productive at work than Ethiopians, Ugandans
Kenyan workers are less productive than their counterparts in Uganda and Ethiopia, a World Bank report says.
Kenya’s lower gross domestic product (GDP) per person employed — the country’s GDP divided by the number of people in employment — has been blamed for slowing economic growth.
“Set in international comparison, GDP per employed person is lower in Kenya than in many African peers and has been increasing at a slower rate than in other countries, both poorer (Ethiopia) and richer countries (Ghana, Burkina Faso and Cambodia),” says the report released last week.
“Productivity growth is held back by limited growth in formal wage jobs,” added the World Bank, signalling that the employee output in the informal sector is lower than those on formal jobs.
The economy created 128,000 new formal sector jobs or 15.2 per cent of total employment generated last year, official data shows.
The informal sector created 713,600 new openings last year, accounting for 84.7 per cent of the 841,600 total jobs.
The World Bank uses GDP per person employed to measure worker productivity levels in the economy.
“While many people work, most jobs are not sufficiently productive: they are not likely to offer significant earnings opportunities or income security,” the report says.
“Kenya’s labour markets are characterised by a much smaller formal wage sector, and much more work in the form of self-employment or informal wage work than is typical of more advanced economies.”
At Sh505,000, Ethiopia’s output per worker is Sh161,600 higher than that of Kenya. Burkina Faso leads the pack with $6,600 (Sh666,600) as the value of output per worker.
The report, dubbed ‘Kenya – Jobs for Youth,’ says that young people have been hard hit by unemployment and suffer from rampant skills mismatch due to limited opportunities.
Source: WB says Kenyans less productive at work than Ethiopians, Ugandans
Nairobi, Kenya
World Bank says Kenyans less productive at work than Ethiopians, Ugandans
Kenyan workers are less productive than their counterparts in Uganda and Ethiopia, a World Bank report says.
Kenya’s lower gross domestic product (GDP) per person employed — the country’s GDP divided by the number of people in employment — has been blamed for slowing economic growth.
“Set in international comparison, GDP per employed person is lower in Kenya than in many African peers and has been increasing at a slower rate than in other countries, both poorer (Ethiopia) and richer countries (Ghana, Burkina Faso and Cambodia),” says the report released last week.
“Productivity growth is held back by limited growth in formal wage jobs,” added the World Bank, signalling that the employee output in the informal sector is lower than those on formal jobs.
The economy created 128,000 new formal sector jobs or 15.2 per cent of total employment generated last year, official data shows.
The informal sector created 713,600 new openings last year, accounting for 84.7 per cent of the 841,600 total jobs.
The World Bank uses GDP per person employed to measure worker productivity levels in the economy.
“While many people work, most jobs are not sufficiently productive: they are not likely to offer significant earnings opportunities or income security,” the report says.
“Kenya’s labour markets are characterised by a much smaller formal wage sector, and much more work in the form of self-employment or informal wage work than is typical of more advanced economies.”
At Sh505,000, Ethiopia’s output per worker is Sh161,600 higher than that of Kenya. Burkina Faso leads the pack with $6,600 (Sh666,600) as the value of output per worker.
The report, dubbed ‘Kenya – Jobs for Youth,’ says that young people have been hard hit by unemployment and suffer from rampant skills mismatch due to limited opportunities.
Source: WB says Kenyans less productive at work than Ethiopians, Ugandans
