The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has reaffirmed its position as Kenya’s largest public employer, according to new data from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC). The workforce under TSC expanded by 5.2 percent, rising from 390,400 in 2023 to 410,700 in 2024. This growth underscores the commission’s central role in shaping Kenya’s education workforce and its continued contribution to national employment.
The SRC bulletin highlighted that TSC not only remains the largest employer but also registered the highest growth rate in staffing. This expansion has played a key role in pushing Kenya’s overall public service workforce beyond the one million mark for the first time, reaching 1.023 million employees in 2024. Ministries and extra-budgetary institutions followed with 236,700 employees, while county governments accounted for 226,500 workers.
Despite the increase in employee numbers, the national wage bill is projected to decline relative to revenue in the third quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year. For the national government, the wage bill is expected to drop from Sh153.71 billion in Q2 to Sh130.79 billion in Q3, reducing the wage-bill-to-revenue ratio from 28.02 percent to 26.46 percent. County governments are also expected to see a decline, with the ratio dropping from 43.34 percent to 35.38 percent.
SRC attributed this trend to improved fiscal discipline within public institutions. While the overall wage bill continues to grow in absolute terms, its growth rate has slowed down compared to previous years. It rose by 4.8 percent in the 2022/2023 financial year and by 6.37 percent in 2023/2024, reflecting a more controlled approach to public expenditure.
In addition, SRC reported receiving 30 requests for new expenditures from various public institutions during the quarter, amounting to Sh411.7 million. Of this, Sh281.4 million, or 68.4 percent, was approved, with allowances and benefits taking the largest share at 76 percent. This shows a balanced approach toward meeting staff needs while maintaining financial prudence.
The latest figures not only reaffirm TSC’s importance in driving employment but also highlight Kenya’s broader efforts to balance workforce expansion with fiscal sustainability. As education continues to be a key pillar of national development, TSC’s role as the largest employer will remain central to both human capital growth and economic progress.
