Millennials and GenZ household incomes have been more impacted by the coronavirus pandemic that that of any other generation, according to a report by data company Kantar.
“Although overall concern levels among the younger generations are lower than average 35 per cent of 18-24-year-olds and 37 per cent of 25-34-year-olds say they are hugely concerned about the situation,” says the report.
With more than half of the Kenyan population being below the age of 35 years, this is a huge concern as even before the coronavirus pandemic the country has been grappling with unemployment.
According to the 2019 Census results, more than a third of Kenya’s youth eligible for work have no jobs in a business environment therefore the dwindling economic fortunes could make this worse.
“The future is bleak for our generation as we do not know when this pandemic will be over and the numerous job losses during this period do not bring hope for our generation,” said Sharon Ochola, a recent graduate in Journalism.
Sharon said she was worried about chances of getting a job as the media industry in the country was also experiencing job cuts.
The tourism and hospitality sector that is one of the most alluring for the youth has been the most affected with thousands of job losses.
“Ninety per cent of jobs in the tourism sector are at risk of getting lost and the sector currently employs an estimate 1.6 million, the number could be higher upto 2.5 million,” said Tourism CS Najib Balala, on a recent interview in a local station.
The Kantar report further says that 52 per cent of millennials and 49 per cent of GenZs have already experienced an impact on their household incomes and an additional 26 per cent across the combined 18-34 age group expect to be impacted in the future.
“We don't have salary cuts yet but in the coming years, we are likely to have severe budget cuts which may lead to retrenchment, because of the impact of Covid-19,” said Daisy Chepchumba, a young professional in the NGO industry
