Industry of employment

Industry refers to the main economic activity of the establishment where the respondent works, thus, it provides information on the District economy. Table 4.4 shows the industries within which the population 15 years and older in the District are employed.

The district has a total employed population of 26,113 (44.2%) aged 15 years and older. Exactly half (50.0%) of the employed population are engaged in agriculture, forestry and fishing. The wholesale and retail industry (repair of motor vehicles and motor cycle) is the second major industry accounting for about one fifth (17.3%) of the employed population. This is followed by manufacturing which account for 9.3 percent.

The table further indicates that the rest of the industry account for minute percentage of the employed population in all the other categories.

Table 4.4 shows that agriculture, forestry and fishing employed 53.8 percent of males and 46.2 percent of females of the employed population 15 years and older. In the wholesale and retail sector, twice the population of females (22.9%) than males (11.5%) are engaged.

The Table 4.4 further shows that a greater proportion of females are engaged in manufacturing (12.2%), accommodation and food services industry (6.6%) and wholesale and retail (22.9%) than males who constitute 9.3 percent, 0.8 percent and 11.5 percent respectively. Majority of males are engaged in more labour intensive industries such as construction, mining and quarrying and transportation and storage. This may be because males are by nature strong and more physique and will therefore go in for such activities that may require strength.