LIST OF LOWEST PAYING JOBS IN KENYA

Unskilled employees in the agricultural sector earn the lowest wages in the country with their basic minimum wage capped at Ksh.6,736.

This is according to data from the 2022 Economic Survey which tracks gazetted monthly minimum wages by the Ministry of Labour.

Herdsmen and watchmen minimum wages are meanwhile capped at Ksh.7,779 while house servants and cooks earn a mean Ksh.7,585 monthly.

The pair’s wages sit below the average wage of Ksh.9,014 per month for the agricultural industry.

The minimum wages have been unchanged since 2018 when the last review of the minimum wages by the government occurred.

Farm foremen and clerks are the highest earners in the category with a mean wage of Ksh.12,152 per month according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data.

Beyond the agriculture sector, minimum wages are the highest in urban centres with the average wage in Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa City sitting at Ksh.21,310.85 per month in 2021.

Artisans in the Grade 1 category earn a wage of Ksh.30,627.45 per month in the cities, the highest pay under gazetted minimum wages.

General labourers including cleaners, sweepers, gardeners, nannies, house servants, day watchmen and messengers meanwhile earn a mean wage of Ksh.13,572.88 per month.

Average minimum wages outside the three cities are meanwhile relatively lower with mean minimum wages in former municipalities and town councils including Mavoko, Ruiru and Limuru standing at Ksh.19.798.61.

In other towns, wages are further down with the average monthly salary sitting at Ksh.16,841.40.

For instance, a night watchman in an ordinary town earns a mean wage of Ksh.8.636.30 per month compared to Ksh.15,141.95 in the Capital City Nairobi.

The gazetted minimum wages are set to rise marginally and by at least 12 per cent following the government’s Labour Day pronouncement to raise the minimum wage in the country.

The current average minimum wage which sits at Ksh.13,500 is subsequently expected to move to Ksh.15,120.

The Ministry of Labour is expected to gazette revised minimum wages per each job category later in the year.