The government says that at least 105,367 Kenyans have been placed in jobs abroad since July 2023.

This follows a briefing to President William Ruto when he chaired a cabinet meeting at State House, Nairobi, on Thursday, November 14, 2024.

According to the briefing, 16,943 have been cleared for opportunities since January this year.

The Ministry of Labour informed Ruto that Kenya has signed bilateral labour agreements with Germany and Austria. Other countries the Ministry of Labour has identified as destinations for the country’s workforce include Australia, Qatar, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, the United Kingdom, Kuwait and Northern Ireland.

The opportunities are in professional, skilled and unskilled jobs including nurses, aged-care workers and teachers for science, mathematics, English and physical education.

‘Good’ economic times

The President was also briefed that the country is experiencing good economic times, with inflation having reduced to 2.7 per cent last month, down from a high of 9.6 per cent in September 2022.

“This is the lowest inflation rate since 2007 during President Mwai Kibaki’s tenure, and aligns with the target set in the Kenya Kwanza Manifesto. Consequently, the prices of various types of food, particularly maize, beans, and peas, have decreased over the past year. A 2kg packet of maize, which was retailing at KSh176 a year ago, is now selling at KSh124,” the cabinet said in a brief after the meeting.

“The Cabinet was also informed that foreign exchange reserves at the Central Bank are at an all-time high of $9.5 billion, an increase of $2.4 billion, equivalent to 4.4 months of export cover. The meeting was further briefed that the country’s economic growth has remained steady and ranks among the highest globally, at 5.6 per cent in 2023, with an estimated growth of 5 per cent this year and 5.6 per cent next year.”