New jobs drop at Kenyan EPZ firms due to sharp fall in apparel exports

21 Dec '23

1 min read

Pic: Markus Winkler/Pexels

Insights

Due to a decline in Kenya's apparel exports to markets like the US, new jobs created by firms operating in EPZs fell sharply in the year ended June 2023.
EPZ firms added 2,127 jobs in the period compared with 12,891 in the same period in 2022.
Though the target was 15,782 new jobs, the 13.4-per cent performance was due to poor show by EPZ apparel firms.

Due to a decline in Kenya’s apparel exports to markets like the United States, new jobs created by firms operating in the country’s export processing zones (EPZs) fell sharply in the year ended June 2023.

EPZ firms added 2,127 jobs in the review period compared with 12,891 in the corresponding period last year, according to data from the department of trade.

The additional jobs in the period were the worst performance for EPZ firms since fiscal 2019-20, when they shed 8,135 jobs due to COVID-19-induced disruption.

Though the department had targeted 15,782 additional jobs, the 13.4-per cent performance was primarily because of poor show by EPZ apparel firms, a domestic media outlet reported.

The apparel sector contributes the bulk of employment within the EPZs. The situation is, however, improving now and the sector is slowly rebounding.

A majority of EPZ firms are in textiles and apparel and largely export to the United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which will expire in September 2025.

Kenya closed June 2022 with 165 EPZ firms, up from the previous year’s 144, but below the targeted 172.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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