Murang’a and Meru Lead as Nairobi Struggles to Create Work Opportunities

Nairobi County may be the country’s economic hub, but when it comes to creating jobs, it is falling behind many other counties

This is according to a February 2026 report by the Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat.

The report ranks counties on employment creation, and Nairobi scored just 17 out of 35 points. In contrast, 19 counties managed higher scores, demonstrating that wealth and digitisation do not automatically translate into job opportunities.

This comes despite Nairobi leading the country in automation, digital revenue systems, and hosting innovation hubs like iHub, which have driven the city’s overall score to 80.3 per cent, tying it for sixth place nationally.

Murang’a and Meru were the top performers in employment creation, each scoring the full 35 points. Murang’a’s success is largely credited to the Murang’a Youth Service, a county-led programme that engages young people in community work, provides skills training, and organises graduation ceremonies to prepare participants for formal employment or entrepreneurship.

Meru’s high score reflected strong legislative support, coordinated youth programmes, and structured backing for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Nakuru and Machakos followed closely with 30 points each. Machakos runs youth service graduations and skills enhancement sessions, while Nakuru supports enterprise development and start-up incubation.

Other counties that outperformed Nairobi include Kiambu (22), Kisumu (21), Elgeyo-Marakwet (25), Kwale (22), Nyeri (25), Kajiado (26), Mombasa (18), Kakamega (22), Taita-Taveta (21), Nandi (22), Uasin Gishu (21), Kitui (25), Trans-Nzoia (19), Homa Bay (21), and Migori (18).

The report assessed employment creation using five indicators: youth community work engagement (5 points), skills enhancement (9 points), economic empowerment (5 points), business start-up support (8 points), and policy-led implementation (8 points).

County-led programmes

Counties that performed well had structured, county-led programmes rather than relying on national or donor initiatives.

“Counties such as Murang’a and Meru achieved maximum scores, reflecting strong legislative support, well-coordinated youth engagement programmes, and structured MSME support initiatives,” the report notes. It adds: “Performance in this category exhibits one of the widest spreads among all four categories, with a 31-point gap between the highest and lowest scoring counties… suggesting limited institutionalisation of employment frameworks or an over-reliance on national or donor-led initiatives.”

Despite its innovation gains, Nairobi’s weak performance in employment creation points to the absence of structured county programmes targeting youth skills, entrepreneurship, and economic empowerment.

While the city excels in technology and automation, the lack of deliberate, formal frameworks to convert these gains into jobs has left many young people without meaningful employment opportunities.

The findings are part of broader monitoring under the Kenya Vision 2030, the country’s long-term development plan launched in 2008. Vision 2030 aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrialising, upper-middle-income nation with a high quality of life in a secure and clean environment by 2030.

The plan is anchored on three pillars: Economic, targeting sustained 10 per cent GDP growth; Social, promoting a just and cohesive society; and Political, ensuring a democratic, accountable, and people-centred system.

The research relied on secondary data, including county government websites, Office of the Controller of Budget reports, county statistical abstracts, and publications from the Council of Governors’ Maarifa Centre. Data was triangulated to ensure accuracy and to assess counties’ performance against the set indicators.

The report warns that unless countries like Nairobi institutionalise strong, structured employment frameworks, gains in automation and digitisation may not translate into real economic opportunities for the youth, potentially leaving the country’s workforce underutilised despite technological advancements.