Kenya added approximately 716,800 new jobs in 2025, with the overwhelming majority originating from the informal sector, reinforcing the nation's continued reliance on small-scale employment despite a slight dip in GDP growth.

• 716,800 new jobs created in 2025, with 4.1 percent growth in the informal sector to 18.1 million workers.
• The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) released the 2026 Economic Survey detailing employment figures.
• While formal sector wage employment grew by 2.8 percent, the dominance of informal jobs underscores persistent structural weaknesses in the labor market.