Over five million jobs were lost in 2020 in the informal sector due to Covid-19 pandemic, the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) Executive Director Jacqueline Mugo has said.
This is in relation to a micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) study carried out in Kilifi, Busia and Kitui counties between March and August.
The numbers reflect 34 percent of all jobs in the informal sector, estimated to be 15.1 million as per the 2020 Economic Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
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The study was conducted across 233 micro-enterprises who said they cut their number of interns from 1,048 to 541 due to Covid-19 pandemic.
“It means that COVID-19 did not only stop the creation of jobs in the micro-enterprises, but it also wiped out jobs. This has great implications on the future of youth employment in this country and the future work done by the youth,” said Ms Mugo.
Mugo appealed to the government to prioritize business recovery in its fiscal policy.
“The situation of households and enterprises at all levels is getting worse and active direct government intervention through accommodating tax policy will go a long way in getting the households and enterprises back on their feet,” she said
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