Survey ranks bankers among Kenya’s highest earners

Workers in the financial services industry are the highest paid in the private sector with those working in the agricultural sector among those paid the least, according to the Economic Survey 2015.

The survey shows average monthly wages for those working in financial institutions such as banks, insurers, and asset managers stood at Sh125,356 last year, up from Sh121,817 in 2013.

Dominant sectors of the economy such as agriculture, which accounts for 27.3 per cent of gross domestic product, manufacturing (10 per cent) and real estate (7.8 per cent) pay the least, fuelling the growing pay inequality in Kenya.

The financial institutions have leveraged on technology to reduce the number of workers performing routine tasks such as clerical duties, leaving them with a leaner workforce whose compensation has risen in line with improved profitability.

Banks are the most profitable in the financial services industry with managers and top executives enjoying the highest pay running into hundreds of thousands of shillings monthly.

READ: Bank staff top private sector pay scales

Workers in the electricity and gas sector were ranked second, drawing an average monthly wage of Sh103,936 last year, up from Sh93,805.

This signals increased pay for workers of Kenya Power, Kenya Electricity Generating Company, Geothermal Development Corporation, and Kenya Electricity Transmission Company, among other energy firms.

Employers performing administrative work and other support functions came in third, earning an average pay of Sh103,045 monthly.

These three sectors were the only ones whose monthly average earnings topped the Sh100,000 mark. The financial services industry has paid above this figure over the past four years.

The transport and warehousing sector came in fourth, paying its workers, including drivers, pilots, clerks and logistics managers, an average monthly wage of Sh87,788.

The education sector was ranked fifth in the compensation league tables, paying its workers like teachers, lecturers, and administrators an average of Sh69,173 last year.

The sector is dominated by the government which has been forced to raise pay for its teachers and lecturers after a series of strikes and litigation by unions at the Industrial Court in recent years. Their average pay stood at Sh58,066 in 2012.

The Economic Survey 2015 ranked workers employed in the provision of utilities and services such as water and sanitation as the least paid in the private sector. This cadre of employees earned an average of Sh14,693 per month in 2013.

Their position at the bottom of the income ladder is linked to the routine nature of their tasks, a phenomenon that has depressed wages for similar industries that lack high-level skills and qualifications.

Domestic workers, including gardeners, nannies and drivers, followed with an average monthly wage of Sh15,500 last year.

Workers employed in agriculture —the single largest employer — were paid slightly higher at an average monthly wage of Sh19,226 last year.

Despite employing the largest number of workers — a fifth of all formally employed staff in the private sector— the low pay in agriculture is seen as weighing down overall earnings in the formal sector.

The survey found the average monthly wage in the formal sector—including the civil service— rose 7.9 per cent to Sh46,264 last year, a slow down compared to 16.1 per cent in 2013

Workers in the real estate sector had a monthly wage averaging Sh19,887 while those in mines and quarries drew a monthly wage averaging Sh28,657.