World Bank to aid Kenya in performing in-depth study on informal sector: Official

A study will be undertaken on Kenya’s informal sector with the support of World Bank, a ministry official revealed on June 7.

The cabinet secretary of Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, Ukur Yatani said to the journalists in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi that the Informal Sector Skills and Occupations Survey (ISSOS) is being undertaken to obtain data about the profile of skills and occupations prevalent in the informal sector.

"The information obtained will help to improve employment opportunities for targeted youth in the short term and improve policy making by government in the long term," Ukur Yatani opined. The survey is part of the Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project (KYEOP) that intends to improve labour market information to enable informed decisions pertaining to the labour market by all stakeholders.

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicates that the informal sector currently generates over 80 percent of the total job openings in the country. Yatani said that the data collection exercise will take a period of 40 days in all the 47 counties.

"The data collection exercise was preceded by several preparatory activities that took place from 2017 to date between different government departments," he added, as reported by Xinhua.

On the other hand, the official disclosed that the government of Kenya is keen to develop the working conditions of the informal sector given the prominent role it plays in the economy.

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