Kenyan companies to freeze hiring

By O’Brien Kimani

Political jitters have led to a sharp reduction in hiring projections for most companies in Kenya with 58 percent of human resource managers saying they do not plan to employ in 2017.

A study by the Institute of Human Resource Management says the public sector is likely to hire more in 2017 than the private sector adding that six out of 10 companies are either planning to trim the work force or freeze hiring.

The report further says majority of companies in the private sector do not plan to hike salaries due to bleak growth prospects.

Unemployment levels in the country are high where seven out of ten people are jobless. The government’s plan is to have one million jobs created every year by both the public and the private sector.

This year politicking is increasing by the day as the country nears the August 8th general election.

The situation is likely to get worse since 7 percent of the human resource chiefs are not sure whether to fire or hire this year.

The study carried out in the last 7 months says politics, low economic growth and reduced demand for goods has led to gloomy economic growth projections.

However, for those planning to pursue higher learning, a career in ICT or sales and marketing is more likely to land you a job.

In the public sector those pursuing teaching, accounting and medicine are more likely to join the public service payroll.

The study covered close to 900 human resource executives spanning in 12 different sectors of the economy.