urban youth unemployment in kenya: nature, challenges and consequences

Urban Youth Unemployment in Kenya: Nature, Challenges and Consequences

By John Simiyu Email: [email protected] and Lenah SambuEmail: [email protected]

Introduction

Youth unemployment and underemployment is a crucial concern throughout the developing

world, but it is a particularly acute problem in Africa where young people comprise a large

proportion of the economically active population. Although studies on urban youth

unemployment have been carried out in Sub-Saharan African countries, they have not come up

with hard data and analytical research that diagnoses the nature and magnitude of youth

unemployment problems and their causes. The level of unemployment is a mirror image of the

state of a nation’s economy. Suffice to also say, youth unemployment is highly dependent on the

overall status of the economy. Economic activity, measured by GDP growth, is probably the

single factor that most influences the chances of young people finding a job. Low or negative

GDP growth, economic recession and low investment are direct causes in the shrinking demand

for labour. Employment is the life line of any economy (Awogbenle and Iwuamadi, 2010).

“Human development will definitely be grossly undermined and impaired without employment”

(NEEDS document, 2004). Oyebade (2003) defines unemployment as a state in which people

who can work are without jobs and are seeking for pay or profit. According to the encyclopedia

Americana (1995) unemployment literally applies to all persons without work and actively

looking for work. Youth employment benefits societies by reducing costs related to social

problems such as substance abuse, crime and violence. In order to find a decent job in a

globalized world, young people need to develop a range of skills and knowledge that are

typically gained through formal education and training. Enrolments in Primary education in most

African countries have improved considerably despite the fact that most young people face major

barriers to achieve this goal, particularly in terms of accessing post-primary schooling. In

addition, young people who are lucky enough to stay on at school are not developing skills that

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are demanded by employers. As a result of this situation and the overall failure of most African

economies to create jobs for a growing population, young people continue to be marginalized in

labour markets. A 2009 Report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated, for

example, that the world unemployment has remained almost constant at an average of 6.1

percent over the eleven-year period between 1998 and 2008. Globally, the number of youth

unemployed increased to 76 million with the youth-adult employment ratio remaining almost

constant at 2.8 (ILO, 2009). According to the Report, the rate of unemployment in Sub-Saharan

Africa eased marginally from an eleven year (1998-2008) average of 8.1 percent to 7.9 percent in

2008, with the youth bearing a relatively large burden of the unemployment. Subsequently, they

have few opportunities to find decent formal employment that will lift them and their families

out of poverty. African governments are implementing various policies and schemes to promote

employment opportunities for young people, including skills training and entrepreneurship funds.

Even if properly designed, however, the implementation of these interventions is constrained by

cost and the lack of capacity among governments to evaluate the impact of policies (UNECA,

2005). This study examined the perceived factors that influence urban youth unemployment in

Kenya, East Africa.

Keywords: Youth, urban unemployment/underemployment, gender disaggregation

governmental/non-governmental interventions, socio-political and economic consequences

Statement of the problem

In the last two or more decades, Africa has been confronted with a multidimensional crisis with

several symptoms including drought and famine, floods, wars, HIV/AIDS and various endemic

diseases, and widespread poverty. Underlying all these is the phenomenon of unemployment

which to some observers, is at the core of the problems of the African sub-region (Sarr, 2000).

The African Common Position on Human and Social Development in Africa, a document

prepared for the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development, highlighted some of the

human and social issues of concern for the African region. One of the core issues was addressed

by the Summit and was emphasized in the African Common Position. The question is - “How

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can the promotion of productive employment and the reduction of unemployment be carried out

in Kenyan economies?” Various conferences in Africa have recognized constraints and

challenges to the achievement of the Programme of Action adopted at the World Summit. With

respect to employment creation, it was recognized that a major challenge is the design of

comprehensive, integrated and coherent employment policies to facilitate the attainment of

objectives.

Significance of the study

Increase in the number of youths in secondary and tertiary education is a positive development;

however, labour markets in many countries are presently unable to accommodate the expanding

pool of the skilled young graduates. With the rapid population growth in Africa and its

implication for the age pyramid, youth unemployment has importantly become a major issue of

concern to African governments. At the global level, with an estimated 70 million youth around

the world unemployed and many more underemployed, the need for employment creation for

youth cannot be denied. Youth unemployment rates in Africa are skyrocketing (UN, 2002). An

employment-led growth strategy is required to address the problems of widespread poverty and

unemployment among the youth in Africa. This study addressed exactly that. The results should

assist policy makers in strategizing on issues of urban youth unemployment. Conclusions were

drawn and recommendations were made.

Objectives of the study

The following objectives were considered in the study:

1. To examine the nature of unemployment and underemployment problems of urban youth,

2. To examine the causes of unemployment and underemployment problems of urban youth,

3. To examine the magnitude (gender disaggregation) of urban youth unemployment,

4. To investigate the socio-political and economic consequences of urban youth

unemployment,

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5. To examine the nature and type of government and non-governmental organizations

interventions.

6. To examine the consequences of the urban youth unemployment, the failures and lessons

learnt

This study was informed by the higher unemployment and underemployment among the youth as

compared to adults, the youth being more likely than adults to be in the informal sector and less

likely to be wage employed or self employed, and the youth being more likely to work longer

hours under intermittent and insecure work arrangements characterized by low productivity and

meager earnings. Estimates show that unemployment among youth affects a broad spectrum of

socioeconomic groups, including the less and well educated youth, and particularly affects youth

from low-income backgrounds and those with limited education (Chigunta, 2002). Lack of

current data makes it difficult to properly assess youth unemployment in Kenya and by extension

in Africa. The findings could be used to inform policies and strategies on youth employment.

The study also addressed the issues of unemployment and elaborate success, failures and lessons

learnt.

Six research questions that were considered are:

1. What is the nature of the urban youth unemployment and underemployment problems in Kenya?

2. What are the causes of the urban youth unemployment and underemployment problems in

Kenya?

3. What is the magnitude (gender disaggregated) of urban youth unemployment in Kenya?

4. What are the socio-political and economic consequences of urban youth unemployment in

Kenya?

5. What is the nature and type of government and non-governmental organizations interventions

to address the issues of unemployment in Kenya?

6. What are the consequences of the urban youth unemployment, the failures and lessons learnt?

The following hypotheses stated in null form were investigated:

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Ho1 There is no significant difference between the perception of youth to the effect that

there is no urban youth unemployment in Kenya.


demand and supply factors do not interact to cause youth unemployment in Kenya.

Ho3 There is no significance difference between the perception of youth to the effect that

there is no gender disaggregation of urban youth unemployment in Kenya.


there are no socio-political and economic consequences of urban youth unemployment

in Kenya.


there are no government and non-government organizations interventions to address the

unemployment issues in Kenya.


there are no consequences of the urban youth unemployment and there are no failures

and lessons learnt.

Literature review

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Evidence from previous analytical work shows that lack of action on the challenges that affect

youth will escalate both the social and economic costs of development in Kenya (Edwards,

2007). According to the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS, 2005/06), 12.7

million out of the 14.6 million labour force were reported as employed with the remaining 1.9

million people being openly unemployed (Republic of Kenya, 2008c). Approximately 67 per

cent of the unemployed in the country were the youth (Republic of Kenya, 2008c). Accordingly,

unemployment rate in Kenya was 50% in 2008, 46% in 1999, 44% in 2000 and has remained

40% from 2001 through 2008 (CIA, 20009). ECA (2002) outlines the causes of youth

unemployment as follows:

1. High levels of unemployment in African countries;

2. Rapid population growth;

3. Small private sectors;

4. Rapid rural-urban migration, and

5. Inappropriate school curricula and poor quality education that is largely irrelevant to he

need of the labour market in most African countries.

One key factor that leads to urban unemployment in Africa is the high degree of geographical

mobility of youth in the form of rapid rural-urban migration resulting in a concentration of youth

in African cities where there are few jobs available in modern sector establishments. Research on

employers’ perceptions of the out-of-school labour supply has consistently found that although

recruiters generally have had their positive impression overall, they also report a lack of some

capacities in job applicants and recruits, particularly a lack of business awareness and capacity

for self-management, as well as skills shortages (CBI and UUK 2009:49). For many youth and

their parents, employment means a job with a wage or salary, or working for someone else,

rather than self-employment. Adebayo (1999) defined unemployment as a state in which people

who can work are without jobs and are seeking for pay or profit. It is estimated that by 2010,

over fifty percent of African youth will be living in urban areas (Chigunta, 2002). Majority of

youth in Africa are engaged in informal sector activities as shop assistants, farm hands, clerical

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assistants, typists, stewards and cooks in hotels and restaurants, in street trading, casual labour

and illegal activities such as touting, stealing, armed robbery, dealing in prohibited substances

such as drugs, and prostitution. Only a small proportion of youth are engaged in the formal

sector. Many of them, male and female, are to be found along the streets of major cities, selling

apples, oranges, telephone cards, telephone handsets, calculators and other assorted goods. Most

employed young women are in the informal sector, some of them as skilled hairdressers,

dressmakers, petty traders, etc. Many young women, for lack of better opportunities, are engaged

in prostitution in African towns and cities, while some others migrate or are trafficked abroad to

engage in prostitution. There is a need to engender employment promotion programmes. The

inclusion of young women and girls as equal partners in youth development and empowerment

programmes is very essential in overcoming gender imbalances. A large proportion of youth are

thus underemployed, working long hours under poor working conditions, for little remuneration

mainly in the informal sector. Thus, as in other regions, the youth employment problem in Africa

encompasses the following dimensions: too many youth without the necessary qualifications and

training for good productive jobs, too few jobs, and too many unproductive jobs with poor

remuneration (ECA, 2002). This poses challenges for employment and development policies in

Africa. Official labour statistics do not adequately reflect women’s activities, especially in rural

areas where production systems are still predominantly household or family based. A great deal

of women’s economic activities, especially for family consumption and unpaid family labour are

not reflected in official statistics (ILO, 1997). Given limited opportunities in the formal sector,

majority of women in the urban areas are self-employed in the informal sector. The most

common entrepreneurial activity for women is retail trade, including within and cross border

trading. Other activities include handicrafts, tailoring and dress making, hairdressing, shop retail,

food processing, services and cottage industries, (ILO, 1997; Okojie, 2000). A key factor leading

to urban unemployment is the high degree of geographical mobility of youth in the form of rapid

rural-urban migration. This has resulted in a concentration of youth in African cities where there

are few jobs available in modern sector establishments. For many youth and their parents,

employment means a job with a wage or salary, or working for someone else, rather than self-

employment. It is estimated that by 2010, over fifty percent of African youth will be living in

urban areas (Chigunta, 2002). This poses challenges for employment and development policies

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in Africa. It must be noted with concern that unemployment affects young people more than any

other social group. Young people face challenging transitions on their way towards adulthood.

The transition to work has proven to be one of the toughest, limiting the opportunities of youth to

decent and productive jobs. In many countries young people have to work in an environment

where legal and financial regulations are not youth‐friendly and public services are unreliable.

Some important lesson drawn from the report by (DfEE, 1998, cited in Stewart and Knowles,

2000:68) indicate that basic literacy and numeracy; the ability to work well with others;

communication skills; self-motivation; the ability to organize one’s work; a basic capability to

use IT; dedication and commitment and learning how to learn as key skills which were both

relevant to employment and throughout life. Other authors have added or modified this list of

skills, with the CBI (2008), proposing that business and customer awareness and problem

solving were amongst the key skills, while UKCES (2009:10-11) also cites problem solving as a

key personal skill, along with understanding the business where the individual is employed.

Other skills identified are communication, numeracy, IT and ‘learning how to learn’ as key skills

which were ‘relevant throughout life, not simply in employment' (NCIHE, 1997).

Methodology

A survey design was adopted for the study. The study was descriptive in nature with a stratified

sample from a population comprising respondents selected from slums of two major cities in

Kenya where youth unemployment is rampant: Kibera slum in Nairobi and Manyatta slum in

Kisumu. Data was collected over a period of six weeks from April 2nd through May 11th 2012.

Questionnaires and interviews were the main research instruments used to gather data from the

field for analysis. The questionnaires were developed based on the objectives of the study,

research questions and hypotheses. The sample size was determined by the number of registered

youth groups in the slums. From the Ministry of Social and Cultural Services records, there was

one exemplary registered youth group in each slum in Nairobi and Kisumu with a population of

about 265 youths in each slum. The sample size was established by selecting eighty from the

youth groups in each slum which agrees with what Charles (1988) considers to being an

adequate size for collecting reliable information that is free from bias. Simple random sampling

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was used to select eighty youths from each of the registered youth groups in each

slum. A guided interview schedule was arranged with the administrators in

charge, that is, the District youth officers and the divisional youth officers,

one each in each slum, to gain an insight of youth unemployment. The

respondents were drawn from two groups, namely, 80 youths from Kibera, a section of populous

dwelling in the city of Nairobi and 80 youths from Manyatta, a section of populous dwelling in

the city of Kisumu. There was, a proportionate number of female and male respondents

randomly and purposely selected for gender parity. Only respondents who were able to read and

interpret questionnaire items were considered. Out of 160 questionnaires 154 (96.25) were

returned. The number received from each city was 77. Data was analyzed by using descriptive

statistics.

Data analysis and interpretation

The study tested the following hypotheses:


there is no urban youth unemployment in Kenya.


demand and supply factors do not interact to cause youth unemployment in Kenya.

Ho3 There is no significance difference between the perception of youth to the effect that

there is no gender disaggregation of urban youth unemployment in Kenya.


there are no socio-political and economic consequences of urban youth unemployment

in Kenya.


there are no government and non-government organizations interventions to address the

unemployment issues in Kenya.

Ho6 There is no significant difference between the perception of youth to the effect that there

are no consequences of the urban youth unemployment and there are no failures and

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lessons learnt.

The null hypothesis Ho1: There is no significant difference between the perception of youth

to the effect that there is no urban youth unemployment in Kenya.

The study sought to establish the nature, challenges and consequences of

youth unemployment in Kenya. Each factor was analyzed based on the

extent the respondents felt it influenced their unemployment. The opinions of

youth from populous households who were engaged in informal sector activities were sought and

classified in the following manner regarding the urban youth unemployment:

(a) Strongly Agree (SA)

(b) Agree (A)

(c) Undecided (U)

(d) Disagree (D)

(e) Strongly Disagree (SD)

A Strongly Agree response reflected a negative opinion while a positive response was graded as

Strongly Disagree. This was in regard to whether there actually was urban unemployment in

Kenya. Other intermediate grades were Agree (A), Undecided (U), and Disagree (D). Those

parents and children who disagreed with the hypothesis that there is no rampant urban youth

unemployment were 43 (27.90) while 65 (42.20) strongly disagreed giving a total of 108 (70.13).

Those who agreed with the hypothesis that there is no rampant urban youth unemployment were

44 (28.57) with 22 (14.29) agreeing and another 22 (14.29) strongly agreeing. The chi-square

was used to test for the significance of the difference in perception the youth from Nairobi and

Kisumu cities. The analysis gave a calculated value of 7.1 while the tabulated value at 2 degrees

of freedom and 0.05 level of significance was 5.991, therefore indicating a significant difference

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between the attitudes of youth from the two cities. The data was tabulated as shown in Table1

and a chi square was computed.

Table 1: Perception towards the hypothesis that there is no rampant urban youth unemployment

__________________________________________________________________________

Perception towards urban Nairobi Youth Kisumu Youth Totalyouth unemployment in Kenya ___________________________________________________________________________

Strongly agree 8 (10.39) 14 (18.18) 2 (14.29)

Agree 8 (10.39) 14 (18.18) 22 (14.29)

Undecided 0 (0.00) 2 (1.30) 2 (1.30)

Disagree 26 (33.77) 17 (22.08) 43 (27.92)

Strongly agree 35 (44.45) 30 (38.96) 65 (42.21)

____________________________________________________________________________


to the effect that demand and supply factors do not interact to cause youth unemployment in

Kenya.

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Results from the questionnaire regarding perception towards causes of urban unemployment

shown in Table 2 indicated that 95 (61.69) strongly disagreed that demand and supply factors do

not interact to cause rampant youth unemployment in Kenya while 40 (25.97) disagreed giving a

total of 135 (87.66). Those who agreed with the hypothesis that there is no rampant urban youth

unemployment were 16 (10.39) with 10 (6.49) agreeing and another 6 (3.90)) strongly agreeing.

The chi-square test of significance indicated that the difference between youth in the two cities,

Nairobi and Kisumu on their perception towards causes of urban youth unemployment was not

significant.

Table 2: Perception towards the hypothesis that demand and supply factors do not interact to cause rampant youth unemployment in Kenya____________________________________________________________________________

Perception towards Nairobi Youth Kisumu Youth Totalcauses of urban youth unemployment_____________________________________________________________________________

Strongly agree 1 (1.30) 5 (6.49) 6 (3.90)

Agree 6 (7.79) 4 (5.19) 10 (6.49)

Undecided 0 (0.00) 3 (3.90) 3 (1.95)

Disagree 21 (27.27) 19 (24.68) 40 (25.97)

Strongly agree 49 (63.64) 46 (59.74) 95 (61.69)

_____________________________________________________________________________

Calculated chi-square value = 3.44 Tabulated chi-square value = 5.991 Degree of freedom = 2 Level of significance = 0-05

The null hypothesis Ho3: There is no significance difference between the perception of

youth to the effect that there is no gender disaggregation of urban youth unemployment in

Kenya.

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Table 3 below shows the youths perception towards gender disaggregation of youth

unemployment. A large proportion, 148 (96.10) disagreed with the hypothesis that there was no

gender disaggregation of urban youth unemployment in Kenya while 4 ((2.60) agreed with the

hypothesis that there was no gender disaggregation of urban youth. The chi-square test of

significance indicated that the difference between youth in the two cities, Nairobi and Kisumu on

their perception towards causes of urban youth unemployment was not significant. Gender

disaggregated data on unemployment shows relatively high unemployment rates for the females

than for males.

Table 3: Youth perception towards gender disaggregation of youth unemployment

_____________________________________________________________________________

Perception towards Gender Nairobi Youth Kisumu Youth TotalDisaggregation of UrbanYouth Unemployment_____________________________________________________________________________

Strongly agree 2 (2.60) 1 (1.30) 3 (1.95)

Agree 0 (0.00) 1 (1.30) 1 (0.65)

Undecided 2 (2.60) 0 (0.00) 2 (1.30)

Disagree 23 (29.87) 22 (28.57) 45 (29.22)

Strongly agree 50 (64.94) 53 (68.83) 103 (66.88)

_____________________________________________________________________________



the effect that there are no socio-political and economic consequences of urban youth

unemployment in Kenya.13

Table 4 shows the youths perception towards political and economic consequences of urban

youth unemployment. A large proportion of the youth 136 (89.31) disagreed with the hypothesis

that there was no socio-political and economic consequences of urban youth unemployment in

Kenya while 7 (4.55) agreed. The chi-square test of significance indicated that the difference

between youth in the two cities, Nairobi and Kisumu on their perception towards political and

economic consequences of urban youth unemployment in Kenya was not significant.

Table 4: Perception towards the hypothesis that there are no socio-political and economic consequences of urban youth unemployment_____________________________________________________________________________

Perception towards Nairobi Youth Kisumu Youth Totalsocio-political and economic consequences of urban youth unemployment in Kenya_____________________________________________________________________________

Strongly agree 0 (0.00) 2 (2.60) 2 (1.30)

Agree 1 (1.30) 4 (5.19) 5 (3.25)

Undecided 2 (2.60) 9 (11.69) 11 (7.14)

Disagree 7 (9.09) 18 (23.38) 25 (16.23)

Strongly agree 67 (87.01) 44 (57.14) 111 (72.08)

_____________________________________________________________________________


Hypothesis Ho5: There is no significant difference between the perception of youth to

the effect that there is no government and non-government organizations interventions

to address the issues of unemployment in Kenya

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Table 5 illustrates the youths perception towards government and non-government

organizations interventions to address the issues of unemployment in Kenya. A large

proportion of the youth 146 (94.81) disagreed with the hypothesis that there was no

government and non-government organizations interventions towards to address the issues of

unemployment in Kenya while 4 (2.60) agreed. The chi-square test of significance indicated

that the difference between youth in the two cities, Nairobi and Kisumu on their perception

towards government and non-government organizations interventions to address the issues of

unemployment in Kenya was not significant.

Table 5: Perception towards the hypothesis that there are no government and non-government

organization interventions to address the issues of unemployment in Kenya.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Perception towards Nairobi Youth Kisumu Youth TotalGovernment and non-governmentalorganization_____________________________________________________________________________

Strongly agree 1 (1.30) 1 (1.30) 2 (1.30)

Agree 1 (1.30) 1 (1.30) 2 (1.30)

Undecided 2 (2.60) 2 (2.60) 4 (2.60)

Disagree 3 (3.90) 4 (5.95) 7 (4.55)

Strongly agree 70 (90.90) 69 (89.61) 139 (90.26)

_____________________________________________________________________________


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Hypothesis Ho6: There is no significant difference between the perception of youth

to the effect that there are no consequences of the urban youth unemployment, the

Including failures and lessons learnt

Table 6 denotes the youths perception towards consequences of urban youth unemployment, the

failures and lessons learnt. A large proportion of the youth 139 (90.26) disagreed with the

hypothesis that there were no consequences of urban youth unemployment in Kenya, the failures

and lessons learnt while 8 (5.20) agreed. The chi-square test of significance indicated that the

difference between youth in the two cities, Nairobi and Kisumu on their perception towards

consequences of urban youth unemployment, the failures and lessons learnt was not significant.

Table 6: Perception towards the hypothesis that there are no consequences towards the urban youth unemployment, the failures and lessons learn

_____________________________________________________________________________

Perception towards Nairobi Youth Kisumu Youth Totalconsequences of urban youth unemployment, the failures and lessons learnt_____________________________________________________________________________

Strongly agree 1 (1.30) 2 (2.60) 3 (1.95)

Agree 2 (2.60) 3 (3.90) 5 (3.25)

Undecided 3 (3.90) 4 (5.19) 7 (4.55)

Disagree 4 (5.19) 5 (6.50) 9 (5.84)

Strongly agree 67 (87.01) 63 (81.82) 130 (84.42)

_____________________________________________________________________________

Calculated chi-square value = 4.60

Tabulated chi-square value = 5.991

Degree of freedom = 2

Level of significance = 0-05

Discussion16

1. Nature of unemployment and underemployment problems of urban youth

Majority of youth (70%) in both cities were literate (either completed primary or secondary

education) and were engaged in informal sector activities. The male dominated activities were

casual workers in construction sites and other industries, artisans in motor mechanic, motor

electric, panel beating, spray painting, motorized and non-motorized taxis, touting, arc and gas

welding, sign writing, farm hands, hardware hawking, carpentry and joinery and tailoring.

Female dominated activities included hair dressing, dress making, food stuff hawking, shop

assistants, typists and clerical assistants. While some of the male and female youth had the

necessary skills to perform the jobs others were still learning the skills. A small fraction (2%) of

the youth engaged in illegal trades such stealing, armed robbery, dealing in prohibited substances

such as drugs for both male and female and prostitution, for female. Only a small proportion of

youth (10%) were engaged in the formal sector: banking, and public sector. Another small

proportion of male and female hawkers were found along the streets of both cities selling food

stuff and other goods such as fruits, mobile phone handsets, cards, second hand clothes,

electronic and hardware good and other assorted goods.

A large proportion of youth are thus underemployed, working long hours under poor working

conditions, for little remuneration mainly in the informal sector. It appeared that the youth

employment problem in both cities revolved around the following dimensions: too many youth

without the necessary qualifications and training for good productive jobs, too few jobs, and too

many unproductive jobs with poor remuneration. It seems, however, that ICT is an employment

sector for youth in both cities. The number of computer shops, internet service providers and

trainers, and phone shops manned by youth themselves is on the increase in Nairobi and Kisumu.

This notwithstanding, the jobs may not reach the unskilled or the poorest youth and they are

male dominated as well. This agrees with what Chigunta (2002) asserts that in all African

countries, labour force participation is higher among male youth, the figures for female labour

force participation rates being extremely low in predominantly Muslim countries where age at

marriage is still very low and female seclusion practised. In such countries, girls marry early and

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withdraw from the labour force completely thereby reducing returns to female education

(Chigunta, 2002). It seems that the youth in Nairobi and Kisumu are contributing to the Kenyan

economy, and have the potential to contribute more significantly to their economies if their

energies are properly harnessed.

2. Causes of unemployment and underemployment problems of urban youth

A number of causes of unemployment and underemployment were identified. It seemed that

some youth had passion for certain jobs only and if they were not available on the market then

such individuals were doomed. Thus, either certain jobs were not available or inadequate.

Demand and supply factors were the main causes that contributed to unemployment and

underemployment. It was noted that, in general, high levels of unemployment were caused by a

proportionate rapid population growth with a mismatch of available jobs. The private sector did not

expand fast enough to accommodate the massive number of youth who entered the cities with the

aim of looking for jobs. Even if the school curricula were to be made relevant to the labour market,

the problem would be that the youth involved lacked experience, changing demands for knowledge,

skills and aptitudes which often was required by the would-be employers. It seemed that youth

competed for jobs unfavourably with adults in declining economies. This finding agrees with

Chigunta (2002) who observes that youth unemployment and underemployment in Africa is

concentrated among those who have received some education, but who lack the industrial and other

skills required in the labour market, making them unattractive to employers of workers who prefer

skilled and experienced workers. Furthermore, educated youth prefer wage jobs in the formal sector

and would prefer to remain unemployed until they get the type of job they prefer, that is, they have

high reservation wages.

An attempt to identify the nature and causes of unemployment in Kenya was made in the 1970-

74 Development Plan (Republic of Kenya, 1969) in which the government identified three

“kinds” of unemployment namely: “urban unemployed, rural unemployed, and educated

unemployed and underemployed”. The causes of such unemployment were identified as high

labour force growth, use of modern capital-intensive technology and attendant increase in labour

productivity, and high wages and salaries, which triggered adoption of labour-saving techniques

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of production. According to the Plan, the identified causes of Kenya’s unemployment were

linked to inadequate training and consequent lack of skills, shortage of land and other resources,

rapid expansion in school enrolments, skills mismatch, and rural-urban migration. These seem to

have remained the same. Another stab towards understanding the nature and causes of

unemployment in Kenya was made in 1983 in the Report of the Presidential Committee on

Unemployment (1982/83) and the Sessional Paper No. 2 of 1985 on Unemployment, which

provided the government’s official response to the Committee’s Report. The Committee, in its

Report, considered the problem of unemployment as one of lack of access to income earning

opportunities, whether in wage or self-employment. Both the Report and the Sessional Paper

identified the major causes of unemployment in Kenya as rapid growth of the labour force, low

economic growth rate, job selectiveness, seasonality of some of the industries, and skills

imbalance. Others were inappropriate technology and failure of development programmes to

focus on areas with greater employment potential. The latest government policy document, The

Sector Plan for Labour, Youth and Human Resource Development Sector (2008-2012) contends

that unemployment in Kenya is both structural and frictional in nature. According to the Plan,

Kenya’s unemployment is mainly attributed to the slow growth and weak labour absorptive

capacity of the economy, mismatch in skills development and demand, imperfect information

flow and inherent rigidities within the country’s labour market. Most of the factors outlined

agree with the findings emanating from the study.

3. Magnitude (gender disaggregation) of urban youth unemployment in Kenya

As reported elsewhere in this document, there were wide variations in female and male labour

force participation in the two cities. The findings indicated that labour force participation rates

are lower for women than for men; there were male dominated jobs as well as female dominated

jobs with 60% and 40%, respectively. In fact, the informal sector was dominated by male. ILO,

1997; Katepa-Kalala, 1999; Okojie, 2000; African Centre for Gender and Development, 2002

observe that women face various structural constrains on their effective participation in

economic activities due to customary laws and norms which impede women to a greater extent

than men from obtaining land, credit, productive inputs, education, information, time poverty,

resulting from women’s multiple and competing reproductive and productive responsibilities. In

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general, women are at a disadvantage in access to and control over productive resources.

Consequently, their economic activities suffer from low productivity and are often poorly

remunerated. Women’s employment has wide implications for households and the community,

as their incomes directly contribute to family welfare.

4. Socio-political and economic consequences of urban youth unemployment

Youth unemployment and underemployment constitute a significant obstacle to the social and

economic development, contributing to political instability and perpetuating an inter-generational

cycle of poverty. The findings showed that unemployment among youth affects a broad spectrum

of socio-economic groups, including the less and well educated youth, and particularly affects

youth from low-income backgrounds and mostly those with limited education. As a matter of

fact, the study targeted the low income sections of the two cities: Kibera slum in Nairobi and

Manyatta slum in Kisumu. Furthermore, political will and commitment at the highest levels are

of primary importance in creating the enabling conditions for youth empowerment and hence,

employment. At the national level, this commitment can be reflected in a government’s

willingness to develop policies that provide for allocation of adequate financial and human

resources to youth empowerment (http://www.microsave.org/, http://www.youthsave.org/).

Political will may also be reflected in legislative, constitutional, policy and administrative

provisions as they relate to youth participation and other youth issues. Evidence presented in

Psacharopoulos (1994) reveals that the social rates of return to primary education in sub-Saharan

Africa is highest for primary education at 25.6 percent followed by 21.7 for secondary schooling,

and finally, 12.2 percent for higher education. Similarly, results in Godfrey (2003) indicate that

the social returns to education in Africa are 25.4 percent for primary schooling, 18.4 percent for

a secondary level education, and finally, 11.3 percent for tertiary education. Such results have

been used as a justification for higher spending by the government on primary education.

5. Nature and type of government and non-governmental organizations

interventions

20

http://www.microsave.org/

The government of Kenya uses policies to address unemployment through its budgeting so as to

effect beneficial changes in the over-all levels of incomes, prices and employment (Republic of

Kenya, 2002; 2003a; 2003b). Monetary policy, for example, is concerned with the lowering of

the cost and increasing the availability of money or credit for business investments. However, the

government is addressing the policy deficiencies which are aggravated by the general lack of

skills and job apathy among the youths, and the general decline in the national economic growth.

The government is also addressing ways through which the existing strategies, and specifically,

the National Youth Policy and the Poverty Eradication Plan, can be enhanced and be effectively

implemented to create adequate job opportunities for the youth. The government also has put

forth concerted and deliberate efforts to encourage investment activities to expand the economy

and the trickle effects that would result in jobs creation. The education system is also being re-

oriented to make it relevant to the job market needs. The emphasis is on skills acquisition and not

merely to pass exams. Regrettably, problems of unemployment as experienced by the educated

youths and even the uneducated but skilled youths have become more pathetic in many

developing economies, despite the neo-liberal strategies in addressing the issue of enhancing

human capital. The world in the 21st century is witnessing a wave of entrepreneurship happening

with more and more people looking for self-empowerment and business ownership. The role of

governments and big businesses as a provider of jobs is shrinking and people are looking to

empower themselves in other ways. To this end the government also puts emphasis on

entrepreneurship as an integral part of curriculum in training institution and education.

Entrepreneurship is increasingly accepted as an important means and a valuable additional

strategy to create jobs and improve livelihoods and economic independence of young people. A

number of non-governmental organizations have targeted the youth unemployment and have

come up with various strategies to address them. A number of policy interventions have been

formulated and variously implemented, since independence, to address the growing employment

problem in Kenya. Key among these policies is the growth-oriented development strategy

augmented by a high wage and Kenyanization policies adopted at independence (Republic of

Kenya, 1964). The government also undertook to engage in direct employment creation, regulate

wages, operate employment exchange programmes, improve labour market information systems,

and re-orient education and training systems to vocational and technical training areas as a means

21

of promoting employment creation. Other measures also implemented to address the country’s

employment problem include promotion of growth and development of the informal and Jua

Kali sector, adoption of fiscal policies, and short-term measures such as tripartite agreements

(Republic of Kenya, 1969; 1973). In the 1990s and early 2000s, government employment

interventions targeted enhancing the acquisition and promotion of efficient use of labour market

information, reliance on market forces to mobilize resources for sustained growth, provision of

public infrastructure, industrialization, enhancement of private sector investment and

participation in the economy, promotion of industrial harmony and productivity, and

liberalization of the labour market (Republic of Kenya, 1994a; 1994b; 1997a; 1997b; 1999;

2002). In 2003, the government of the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) formulated a five-

year development strategy (Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation,

2003-2007). This strategy put a case for empowerment of the people through creation of

employment and other income earning opportunities.

The Youth Enterprise Development Fund was conceived in June 2006 by the

government as a strategic move towards arresting unemployment. The loan

targets all forms of youth owned enterprises whether owned individually, as

a company, in groups, in cooperatives or any other legal forms of business

ownership; seventy five percent (75%) of those unemployed are the youth.

The government fast-tracked this noble and timely initiative

(www.yedf.go.ke). The Fund was gazetted on 8th December 2006 to provide

the necessary legal framework to govern its use and operations. The Fund

facilitates youth employment through enterprise development and

structured labour export. The Fund disbursement process to the youth

enterprises through the Financial Intermediaries and the Constituency Youth

Enterprise Scheme was launched in 2007 (www.yedf.go.ke2010/06/17).

6. Urban youth unemployment, failures, lessons learnt and challenges

22

http://www.yedf.go.ke/

It seems that the level of unemployment is a mirror image of the state of a nation’s economy.

Suffice to also say, youth unemployment is highly dependent on the overall status of the

economy. Economic activity, measured by GDP growth, is probably the single factor that most

influences the chances of young people finding a job. Low or negative GDP growth, economic

recession and low investment are direct causes in the shrinking demand for labour source of

funding among the youths and accessing the fund for projects remains a great challenge. Most

youth have not been properly informed on how funding can be accessed. Furthermore, projects

funded have not been properly managed either and hence low repayment rates. The funds that

exist such as Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) have staffing problems and hence

lack proper monitoring and capacity building. The fund has not been able to address gender

imbalances and has not made significant impact in society, a challenge in itself.

The unemployment challenge in Kenya has grown overtime. The level of open unemployment

increased from 6.7 percent in 1978 to 25.1 percent in 1998/1999 before easing to 12.7 percent in

2005/2006 (Omolo, 2010). There have been considerable variations in unemployment amongst the

different age cohorts, with the youth category recording relatively higher rates of open

unemployment. Overall, youth unemployment has persistently been at least double the national

unemployment rate. Unemployment trends of different demographic groups show that youth

unemployment rate is relatively higher than the total unemployment rate. There seems also to be

youth and gender related inequities in access to employment opportunities in Kenya. It seems that

equality in access to employment opportunities, including pay, is a key component of decent work.

Hafkin, 2002) asserts that consideration of gender issues in development is the greatest good. This is

because gender disparities create inefficiencies, hampers growth and lowers the potential well being

of a society. Accumulated empirical evidence demonstrates the centrality of gender equality for

equitable economic growth and poverty reduction. The proportion of women employed in the formal

sector increased marginally from 26.2 percent in 1995 to 29.5 percent in 2000, depicting a 3.3

percentage point increase over the five-year period while the proportion of women in formal sector

employment remained constant at 29.6 percent in the period 2001-2004 but declined to 29.4 percent

in 2005. It then increased marginally to average 30.2 percent over the 2006-2008 period (Ibid).

Conclusion23

One of the key challenges facing the Kenyan youth is lack of necessary education, relevant

training and the knowledge and skills required to enhance their absorption into the labour

market. Majority of the youth do not possess appropriate labour market skills, knowledge and

attitude. At the same time, there are too many unproductive and precarious jobs offering poor

terms and conditions of employment. In practice, there are many complex structural and frictional

constraints related with lack of employability. Most employers, for example, insist on looking for

“experienced workers” while the youth, expectedly, lack the required work experience. While

majority of employers in both private and public sectors of the economy put past experience as a

minimum qualification requirement for certain jobs, Kenya lacks a framework for actual work

experience compared to industrial attachment and an apprenticeship system to enable trainees acquire

practical skills necessary for the world of work. That is, there is a difference between actual work

experience and industrial attachment; the former has to do with someone who was actually employed

while the latter has to do with someone who was only with the organization for a limited period of

time under different terms and conditions. Consequently, new labour force entrants lack the required

practical experience to undertake assigned tasks, calling re-training with attendant incremental costs.

The lack of practical skills by majority of the youthful job seekers aggravates the unemployment

situation by adding to the pool of ‘educated’ unemployed. Even though the Directorate of Industrial

Training (DIT) is mandated with streamlining industrial attachment in the country, the institution is

faced with operational challenges. Granted, some industrial attachment is going on in the country.

However, the same is not properly coordinated and integrated into the entire education and training

curricula leaving room for haphazard implementation of the same by the training providers and the

attaching institutions. Questions are even abound as to whether the industrial attachments and

internship are degenerating into a new source of cheap labour. Effective coordination between

education, training institutions and industry is critical for skills development and the resultant

employability of the youth and the entire labour force. In Kenya, however, there are no policies

governing linkages and collaboration between education and training institutions, on one hand, and

industry, on the other hand. This is reflected in the development and implementation of education

and training curricula which is done without effective consultation and collaboration with relevant

stakeholders, especially industry. In addition, skills development in the country continues to be

undertaken without due regard to labour market requirements. Furthermore, institutions such as the

National Manpower Development Committee (NMDC) which were meant to provide the necessary

framework for interaction between training providers and industry are no longer functional. There is 24

also minimal coordination, if any, between Government, employers, training providers and policy

research institutions. Increasing global competitiveness requires re-orientation by economies to keep

pace with global challenges, especially the fast changing technologies. In Kenya, a technological gap

has been witnessed in various sectors of the economy, with the most affected being manufacturing,

agriculture and information and communication technology. The rapidly changing nature of

employment and work requirements has brought about the need for retraining and retooling of the

Kenyan workforce for increased efficiency and productivity. Increased conversion of middle-level

colleges, especially national polytechnics and technical training institutions into public universities,

however, may weaken the skill upgrading nexus between secondary, tertiary institutions and

universities. This has impacted greatly on the employability of the youth.

Kenya’s labour market is dual in nature, presenting a growing informal sector employment

characterized by precarious jobs with a subdued growth in formal sector employment. Thus, even

though the formal sector jobs are relatively preferred, they are few and cannot match the demands of

the growing labour force. The Kenya government has, overtime, pursued a number of structural

reforms to support formal employment particularly within the private sector (Kulundu, 2003). These

include reviewing the tax regime, simplification of licensing procedures, and implementation of

programmes for strengthening the business environment, including enforcement of competition

policies. However, these structural reforms seem not to have been effectively and/or completely

implemented to make meaningful impact on the youth unemployment crisis. While some significant

improvements in the formulation of national development policies have been made, implementation

has not been satisfactory, effective, consistent and efficient.

Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial culture is an important ingredient in youth employment. It is a

sure way of creating jobs. Kenya has a vibrant Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises

(MSMEs) sector. Within the Kenyan context, the MSMEs are understood to be independent business

undertakings where operational and administrative managements are in the hands of the owner(s)

who are also responsible for making the major decisions of the enterprise. The MSMEs are in both

formal and informal sectors engaging in farm and non-farm economic activities such as

manufacturing, mining commerce, industry and social services. MSMEs are more effective in the

utilization of local social and natural resources, employing simple and affordable production

technology. Also, MSMEs are positioned to satisfy limited demands brought about by small and

25

localized markets due to their lower overheads and fixed costs. Although MSMEs are dynamic and

employment generating entities, they are not socially and economically preferable jobs by the youth.

In most cases, MSME employment is regarded as a “wait” employment sector by majority of the

youth or where workers who have been offloaded and/or retired from the formal sector seek refuge.

In this regard, the youth still look upon the formal sector as their main employment option and their

impression is that self- employment is the second or third choice for those who cannot find wage

employment. At the same time, even though MSMEs have been aggressively promoted by the

government and various stakeholders as a labour sponge or safety valve, the youth still lack the

necessary empowerment to venture into the sector. A number of studies (Semboja, 2005) have

established that there exists numerous and complex constraints that face young entrepreneurs in the

process of owning, managing, operating and developing their enterprises. In the case of Kenya, many

MSMEs remain informal because the administrative procedures for business registration are too

cumbersome, long-winded and/or costly. The barriers to setting new businesses are particularly high

for the youth who, on the other hand, face complex entrepreneurship barriers. These structural

problems include the lack of voice and representation, lack of access to credit and seed funding,

isolation and lack of support, which makes it difficult for the youth owned enterprises to gain a

foothold in the modern expansive business. Inadequate access to effective business advisory and

support services, absence of entrepreneurship mentorship programs remains part of the key

challenges facing youth integration into the MSMEs and national economic grid.

The desirable situation in Kenya is that boys and girls have equal access to education and often girls

are doing better than boys at school. But unemployment has continued to be higher among women

than men. Furthermore, on average, relatively most men earn more than women. Women face

various structural constraints on their effective participation in economic activities that include poor

customary laws and norms which impede women to greater extent than men from obtaining land,

credit, productive inputs, education, information health care and coexistence of multiple laws which

create ambivalence (for example customary and statute laws relating to marriage and inheritance;

gender bias in access to basic human resource development services such as education, training and

health, resulting in gender gaps in adult and/or youth literacy rates and time poverty resulting from

women’s multiple and competing reproductive and productive responsibilities) (Okojie, 2000;

2003). Regardless of these poor customary laws and norms labor market also exhibit discriminatory

26

policies, structural barriers and other prejudices that inhibit majority of female youth from entering

and staying in the job market.

Analysis of the employment data for Kenya shows, for example, an increasing trend in the

engagement of workers on casual terms of employment. The relatively high unemployment

levels amongst the youth and particularly the women folk may as well suggest their

disproportionate share in precarious employment. It is noted that most employers in Kenya,

particularly those within the private sector have resorted to the increasing use of casual,

temporary, part-time, contract, subcontracted and outsourced workforces to ostensibly reduce

labour costs, achieve more flexibility in management and exert greater levels of control over

labour. This trend allows the de-politicization of hiring and firing that makes it easier for

companies to avoid labour legislation and the rights won by trade unions. The nature of

employment of casual workers do not facilitate them to enjoy the fundamental rights of workers

such as freedom of association and collective bargaining, right to paid leave and other requisite

benefits. This revelation contrasts sharply with the country’s desire to reduce poverty and

enhance social protection. This leads to lack of motivation and increases shirking, which

decreases effort. This could partly explain the persistently low levels of labour productivity, low

enterprise competitiveness and the slow economic growth rates in Kenya. The Kazi Kwa Vijana

(KKV) programme, one of the “youth” targeted public works programme in Kenya, is a fairly

recent initiative but is not as effective as anticipated. Experience shows that the longer people stay

out of work, the more their “employability” deteriorates, making it progressively harder for them to

gain employment. This is especially worrying for the youth who may have completed school and get

trapped into a lifetime of weak attachment to the labour market alternating between low paid insecure

work such as casuals and open unemployment.

Recommendations

From the findings, the following recommendations that can be taken by the Kenya Government,

head-on, through policy initiatives are suggested:

1. A number of various labour market programmes and interventions aimed at redressing

the youth employment problems that have worked elsewhere can be customized in

Kenya:

27

(a) One of the comprehensive surveys of interventions to address youth employment is

provided by Betcherman, et al. (2007) and Puerto (2007). This is based on findings of

a Youth Employment Inventory (YEI) of 289 interventions implemented in 84

countries representing all regions of the world. The interventions are categorized

based on a framework developed by Godfrey (2003). The framework for the YEI

comprises two key elements: (i) increasing labour demand and (ii) increasing the

integrability of workers to enable them take advantage of employment opportunities

as labour demand increases.

(b) Promote innovative ways to expand technical and vocational skills development

focusing on out-of-school youth in the rural and informal economy in terms of

employment promotion and income generating opportunities through skills

development initiatives, for example, informal apprenticeship. A key issue is 'raising

the level of employability for individuals by ensuring they have the important

generic skills in team-working, reasoning and communicating that are among

required ones for many modern careers'. Educational and training institutions need to

maintain and increase their activity in developing employability skills in all students,

despite the economic downturn and the pressure on budgets. History shows that

investment during a downturn leads to success when pressures ease, and investment

in employability is an investment in the future.

2. To address the problem of skills mismatch with the labour market, the business

community, private sector and industry need to be closely engaged with educational and

training institutions.

3. A review of some of Kazi Kwa Vijana features of effective public works programme

based on international experiences can be carried out to improve it.

4. Developing a demand driven vocational and technical education and training system for the

youth is an asset.

5. Promotion of entrepreneurship and nurturing of an entrepreneurial culture should be seen as

one of the ways out of youth unemployment crisis.

6. School-Industry Link programmes should be developed to aid students in appreciating the

relevance of learned theories in the world of work.

28

7. There should be linkage between the educational institutions, training institutions and the

formal and informal (jua kali) sector.

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