Kenya’s Public Wage Bill Hits KSh1.287 Trillion as SRC Raises Concern Over County Payrolls

By Maurice Momanyi

 Kenya’s public service wage bill is projected to rise to KSh1.287 trillion in the 2025/2026 financial year, up from KSh1.247 trillion recorded in the previous financial year, according to the latest report by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

The SRC’s Fourth Quarter Wage Bill Bulletin covering April to June 2026 attributes the increase largely to the expansion of the teaching, health and security sectors, as well as periodic salary adjustments aimed at reflecting changes in the cost of living.

Despite the increase in the overall wage bill, SRC says the proportion of the wage bill to ordinary revenue is improving. The ratio stood at 41.82 per cent in FY 2024/2025 and is projected to decline to 40.68 per cent in FY 2025/2026.

The Commission attributes the decline to fiscal consolidation measures and improved ordinary revenue collection, saying the trend signals progress towards making public service compensation more sustainable.

The biggest concern highlighted by the bulletin is at the county government level, where wage expenditure continues to exceed the threshold provided under the Public Finance Management Act, 2012.

During the first nine months of FY 2025/2026, county expenditure on Personnel Emoluments rose by 11 per cent, from KSh154.94 billion to KSh171.36 billion.

However, the ratio of Personnel Emoluments to revenue declined from 46.8 per cent to 44.12 per cent over the same period. Despite the improvement, the average remained above the 35 per cent threshold set under the PFM Act.

Only five counties managed to keep their wage-bill-to-revenue ratios below the statutory threshold. They are Tana River at 27 per cent, Kwale at 30 per cent, Nakuru at 30 per cent, Uasin Gishu at 31 per cent and Kirinyaga at 32 per cent.

At the opposite end, Taita Taveta and Homa Bay recorded the highest ratios at 63 per cent each, followed by Machakos at 58 per cent.

The figures underline the financial pressure facing many county governments, where a large share of locally available resources is being consumed by personnel costs, potentially limiting funds available for development and service delivery.

At the national government level, the wage situation was comparatively more contained.

SRC reported that national government expenditure on Personnel Emoluments as a proportion of total revenue remained below the 35 per cent PFM threshold during the first nine months of both FY 2024/2025 and FY 2025/2026.

The ratio increased slightly from 27.6 per cent to 28.1 per cent, while Personnel Emoluments as a proportion of total government expenditure declined from 30.5 per cent to 28 per cent.

The bulletin also reveals continued expansion of Kenya’s public workforce.

Analysis of the Economic Survey 2026 shows that public sector wage employment grew by 4.6 per cent in 2025, compared with 3.1 per cent growth in 2024.

The Teachers Service Commission remained the largest public sector employer, with its workforce increasing by 6.2 per cent, from 410,700 employees in 2024 to 436,300 in 2025.

Ministries and other extra-budgetary institutions had approximately 243,500 employees, while county governments employed about 239,000 people.

Overall, public service employment increased from 884,700 workers in 2020 to 1.07 million in 2025, demonstrating a sustained upward trend over the six-year period.

Against the backdrop of the rising wage bill, SRC says it is pursuing measures aimed at improving productivity, performance and accountability across the public sector.

The Commission convened the first National Productivity and Performance Conference from June 17 to 19, 2026, at the Kenya School of Government. The meeting produced seven resolutions targeting productivity enhancement, improved service delivery, revenue mobilisation and institutional accountability.

SRC also disclosed that it had issued advice to 42 institutions on collective bargaining negotiations during the year covered by the four quarterly Wage Bill Bulletins.

The Commission says its role is to ensure that salary negotiations and collective bargaining agreements remain consistent with constitutional principles while protecting the sustainability of the public wage bill.

The latest figures therefore present a delicate balancing act for Kenya: while the government continues to expand its workforce and meet salary obligations in critical sectors, it faces growing pressure to ensure that personnel costs do not crowd out development spending and essential public services.

SRC says it will continue working with national and county governments, employers and workers to promote equitable and sustainable remuneration while safeguarding taxpayers’ interests.