Employment in the Kenyan private sector increased for the third consecutive month in December but remained low compared to October, according to Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).
The index noted that firms that hired more workers generally linked this to rising workloads.
“Stronger sales led to a renewed increase in backlogs of work at the end of the year, which supported a third successive monthly rise in employment. The rate of job creation was marginal though,” reads part of the index released Wednesday.
The index noted that Kenya’s private sector strengthened slightly at the end of 2020 with businesses reporting modest output and new order growth.
The Markit Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose slightly to 51.4 last month from 51.3 in November. The 50.0 mark separates growth from contraction.
“The modest month-on-month improvement in the Stanbic PMI indicates that the pace of the post-pandemic recovery is slowing down,” said Kuria Kamau, fixed income and currency strategist at Stanbic Bank.
The expansion was softer than those seen from July to October as the economy recovered from the COVID-19-led downturn.
However, a resurgence in COVID-19 cases and the re-introduction of lockdowns in some international markets have lowered expectations for the post-pandemic recovery in 2021 said Kamau.
