A report released by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has revealed that the total number of workers in the formal sector is 2 million. Below is an analysis of the report.

Total Number of employees in the formal sector in Kenya

According to the SRC wage bill report, Kenya’s total workforce currently stands at 12 million. Within this figure, the formal sector comprises 2 million employees which include government civil service, parastatal organizations, and private sector workers.

The report indicates that wage employment in public service experienced a 1.6% growth in 2022, which is lower compared to the 4.4% increase recorded in 2021. Notably, the Teachers Service Commission, the largest employer in the public service, witnessed a reduction of 0.3% in employment in 2022. On the other hand, county governments reported a growth of 4.4% during the review period, resulting in a total of 217,300 employees.

Employment in government-controlled corporations and parastatal bodies increased by 1.1% in 2022, while employment in ministries and other extra-budgetary institutions saw a growth of 2.4%. However, this growth rate represented a decelerated growth compared to the 7.1% increase recorded in 2021.

The number of employees in the public service rose from 774,700 in 2015/2016 to 923,100 in the fiscal year 2020/2021. On average, the public service labor force experienced a growth rate of 4.34% up to the fiscal year 2020/2021 and is projected to continue growing at the same rate, reaching 963,200 employees in the fiscal year 2021/2022.

Source: The data above is based on the SRC Wage Bill report for January to March 2023. The full pdf report can be downloaded from the SRC website.