Economic Survey unveils best and worst paying jobs

Accountants earned bigger salaries on average compared with doctors and other professionals in the country.

Data from the 2016 Economic Survey shows that Government employees in the financial and insurance activities were on average paid an annual salary of Sh1.6 million, which translates to about Sh130,000 every month.

The second best paying professionals working in the public sector were in the transportation and storage industry, who took home on average Sh122,000.

“Within the public sector, finance and insurance activities recorded the highest earnings, while mining and quarrying recorded the lowest,” the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said in its survey.

Pampered employees 

Accountants have remained not just the most pampered government employees but also the most exposed in terms of corruption, due to their positions.

Last week, National Treasury headed by Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich shuffled over 7,000 accountants, procurement officers and auditors in an effort to break cartels that have been running tenders and fuelling corruption in government.

Accountants were closely followed by their counterparts working in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sectors who took home on average Sh107,000 a month.

Graduands during University of Nairobi’s 52nd graduation ceremony at the university’s main campus. Data from the 2016 Economic Survey shows that Government employees in the financial and insurance activities are paid better than doctors and other professionals. (PHOTO: COURTESY)

On the flipside, government employees in the mining and quarrying departments were the poorest paid in the year, earning on average a salary of Sh30,000, which is four times less than the average salaries for the best paid employees in government.

They were followed by employees in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors who were paid on average Sh32,000 a month. The third worst paid employees were in the public administration and defence and compulsory social security departments. These cadre of employees earned on average Sh42,500.

The story was different in the private sector with employees working for international organisations such as the World Bank, diplomats, and foreign missions earning the biggest pay.

On average, an employee working for extraterritorial organisations and bodies was paid an average salary of Sh240,000 in 2015.

“In the private sector, activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies recorded the highest annual average earnings followed by finance and insurance activities, while water supply, sewerage and waste management activities recorded the lowest annual average earnings.

The second best paid professionals in the private sector are those in financial and insurance activities, followed by those in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply. In the fourth position are those working in the administrative and support service activities sectors.

Overall, annual earnings per employee increased by 9.2 per cent from Sh553,137.7 in 2014 to Sh604,255.8 in 2015.
The report notes that the average annual earnings in the private sector increased by 10.7 per cent compared to 6.2 per cent growth in the public sector.

HIGHEST RISE

Private sector employees in the water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities had the highest rise in average earnings over the period 2014 to 2015.
Public sector workers in accommodation and food service activities recorded the highest increase in average earnings over the same period.

Real average earnings per employee per annum, in the private sector increased by 3.4 per cent from Sh358,662.10 in 2014 to Sh370,940.80 in 2015. However, real average earnings per employee in the public sector declined by 0.8 per cent to Sh390,383.30 per annum in 2015.
Last year, the increased activity in the agriculture, manufacturing and trade sectors created 128,000 formal sector jobs.

“The largest contributors to wage employment in the private sector were agriculture, forestry and fishing, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles and education,” the report notes.

The 128,000 new formal sector jobs accounted for 15.2 per cent of total jobs generated last year.
In total the economy created 840,000 new jobs, with 84.7 per cent of them in the informal sector.