Kenya Economic Update: rising above the waves
Kenya’s largest age cohort is between 10 and 14 and will be joining the labor force over the next decade. This inflection point coincides with the country’s effort to steer towards economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. Can the jobs and labor market keep up to deliver on this socio-economic dividend? The latest Kenya Economic Update Edition 23: Rising Above the Waves, notes that with the working age (18-64) tapped to increase by 1 million per year, this young and growing population will significantly increase the labor supply while reducing the dependency ratio. If this increase in labor supply can be matched by a corresponding increase in good quality jobs, then average household and per capita incomes will increase. However, unlocking this first potential demographic dividend will depend on sufficiently increasing good economic opportunities, especially for youthful labor market entrants. Failure to do so could increase the risk of social unrest as large incoming youth cohorts are faced with limited opportunities.
