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By Steve UMIDHA
Employment numbers in the Kenyan private sector dropped for the fifth consecutive month in January 2024, a survey showed today, as businesses struggled with soaring costs instigated by high fuel prices.
The headline PMI rise of 49.8 during the month, however signals a slight steadying, up from 48.8 in December, and was almost level with the 50.0 mark which signals a stabilisation.
Business activity and new order volumes dropped only fractionally, while firms expanded their workforce numbers for the first time in five months.
This was mainly due to slower contractions in activity and new orders, as well as a renewed uplift in staffing.
Business activity at Kenyan firms fell for the fifth month running during the period under study, albeit at the slowest pace in this sequence and only slightly.