Employment

Employment in the Kenya Coast first expanded from the twelfth century onwards with the rise of Swahili civilisation that offered many trade and building activities. Over time, there was a rising demand for domestics, porters and plantation workers. Wage employment and self-employment in small-scale businesses rapidly increased after the abolition of slavery in 1907. The colonial period was, nevertheless, generally characterised by a sluggish response of the local labour force and repeated labour unrest. Poor employment conditions resulted in a low productivity of a work force strongly under traditional cultural influence. Wage employment more than doubled in the post-independence period with growth remaining near the national average. The coastal share of national wage employment is currently above its share of the national population. Employment is mostly concentrated in the coastal towns with a predominance of Mombasa. Moreover, most jobs are found in the service sector since the region is heavily dependent on tourism, commerce, transport and communication. The review ends with brief descriptions of the current sectoral characteristics, the informal sector, unemployment and the degree of women participation.