Top earners see income up by half in 5 years

Nearly one third of Nairobi households earning at least Sh100,000 have managed to increase their incomes by 50 percent in the last five years, a new survey shows, pointing to the economic dividends of Kenya’s moderate growth.

The survey released by the Standard Chartered Bank on Tuesday finds that 33 percent of Nairobi residents in that income category have seen their salaries grow by half in five years.

The Survey dubbed Climbing the Prosperity Ladder paints a rosier picture than official statistics. Data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics indicate that salaries have generally grown by 35.9 percent in private sector and 26.6 per cent in public sector over the last five years.

According to the survey, Kenya’s modest growth — which slowed to 4.9 per cent in 2017 after an expansion of 5.9 percent the previous year — is producing a successful generation that has better careers, education and incomes than their parents.

More than six in 10 people in Kenya or 61 per cent of this successful generation have experienced growth in incomes and careers in the last five years, the survey finds.

The Nairobi households that experienced the income growth equally expects their salaries to grow by another 50 percent in the next five years, the survey says.

The survey involving 1,000 Nairobi residents however finds that majority of Kenya’s “emerging affluent” are still relying on basic approaches to achieve their top financial goals with 50 percent still using on savings accounts as their preferred method for growing wealth,” states the report.