Economics Essay Example: Unemployment in Kenya

Unemployment is a primary problem affecting many third-world countries, African nations topping the list. This essay aims at discussing unemployment in Kenya by viewing the relationship of unemployment and Kenya's economic status and the accompanying employment data trends in the country.

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Unemployment in Kenya mainly affects the youth population which happens to hold the higher percentage population compared to the population above 40 years. Kenya has the highest unemployment rates when measured among the East African countries. The high levels of unemployment get attributed to various reasons, economy and high population growth being the main ones.

First, one relationship between Kenya's economy and unemployment is that they depend on the population growth. Within the last few years, the population in Kenya has raised due to the improved health care and better health status that has reduced infant mortality rate. The high population living in a crumpled economy indicated the presence of a bigger unemployed population compared to the working people. The current political unrests and elections have cost Kenya lots of money, some which were borrowed. This increased amount of debts in Kenya, struggling the Kenyan economy further (Sam & Pokharival, 2016).

Another relationship is that with the reduced levels of investments and business progression, there is reduced employment hence Kenya registers a negative economic growth. Recent international constraints like the international politics by Trump that affects Kenya's international market negatively, reducing both the employment opportunities and economic development.

Kenya's economic environment is harsh and unfriendly which paves the way for unemployment.

As an employee of the World Bank, you have been asked to research one economic concern in an African country and write a report on your findings (Ponge, 2013).

Finally, the price of buying and selling within Kenya is very high, with many people unable to purchase them efficiently due to lack of jobs or low pay. The Kenyan education system produces many qualified graduates that find it hard to survive out there without jobs. Kenya has a large population of people with the required skills and knowledge in working to promote the economy of Kenya. However, people lack the proper opportunities to show out their skills. A big part of economic potential lies within the people and not in the market (Odhiambo, Momanyi, Othuon & Aila, 2013).

The rate of unemployment among Kenyan youths, 15-24 years steadily increased from the year 2010 from 17.1% to 17.3% for the women and 16.9 to 17.1 for the men. The rate of unemployment in Kenya is higher for women than for girls. Nationally, Kenya registers an 11% unemployment rate, which is very high although it has decreased by a small percentage in 2017. With a total of 45.40 million people, Kenya registers monthly incomes of about 526 USD as per 2016 statistics (Odhiambo, Momanyi, Othuon & Aila, 2013). The debt levels of Kenya doubles in the year 2017 which is a negative economic sign. Kenya has had a steady economic growth ranging between 4.5 and 5.8 in the last seven years. Although the Kenyan economy has increased by small ratios, the rate of unemployment remains high due to the high populations a competitive environment and lack of the correct instruments and infrastructure of creating more job opportunities (Sam & Pokharival, 2016).

In conclusion, a positive economic change is always realized when the bigger populations are working and get fair pay. Kenya's economy will keep achieving small positive and ineffective change as long as the issues of unemployment doesn't get addressed.

References

Odhiambo, S. O., Momanyi, G., Othuon, L., & Aila, F. O. (2013). The Relationship between Fiscal Deficits and Economic Growth in Kenya: An Empirical Investigation. Greener Journal of social sciences, 3(6), 306-323.

Ponge, A. (2013). Graduate unemployment and unemployability in Kenya: transforming university education to cope with market demands and the lessons for Africa. International Journal of Social Science Tomorrow, 2(3), 1-12.

Sam, S. O., & Pokharival, G. P. (2016). Modelling Economic Determinants of Youth Unemployment in Kenya. Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences (JETEMS), 7(1), 31-38.

Thuku, G. K., Gachanja, P. M., & Obere, A. (2013). The impact of population change on economic growth in Kenya.