The 2009 population and housing census covered in brief the labour status as tabulated below. The main variable of interest for inequality discussed in the text is work for pay by level of education. The other variables, notably family business, family agricultural holdings, intern/volunteer, retired/homemaker, fulltime student, incapacitated and  no work are tabulated and presented in the annex table 5.3 up to ward level.

 Table 5: Overall Employment by education Levels in Elgeyo-Marakwet County

In Elgeyo-Marakwet County, 13% of the residents with no formal education, 11% of those with a primary education and 21% of those with a secondary level of education or above are working for pay. Work for pay is highest in Nairobi at 49% and this is twice the level in Elgeyo-Marakwet for those with secondary level of education or above.

In this report, the Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of consumption expenditure among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. A Gini index of '0' represents perfect equality, while an index of '1' implies perfect inequality. Elgeyo-Marakwet County’s Gini index is 0.358 compared with Turkana County, which has the least inequality nationally (0.283).

Less than 1% of residents in Elgeyo-Marakwet County use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and 1% use paraffin; 90% use firewood and 8% use charcoal. Firewood is the most common cooking fuel by gender at 90% in male headed households and 91% in female headed households.

 Marakwet East constituency has the highest level of firewood use in Elgeyo-Marakwet County at 95%. This is 12 percentage points above Keiyo North constituency, which has the lowest share. Marakwet East constituency is about 5 percentage points above the county average. Emsoo ward has the highest level of firewood use in Elgeyo-Marakwet County at 98%. This is 35 percentage points above Kapchemutwa ward, which has the lowest share. Emsoo ward is 8 percentage points above the county average.

 Keiyo North constituency has the highest level of charcoal use in Elgeyo-Marakwet County at 15%.This is almost four times Marakwet East constituency, which has the lowest share. Keiyo North constituency is 7 percentage points above the county average. Kapchemutwa ward has the highest level of charcoal use in Elgeyo-Marakwet County at 33%. This is 31 percentage points more than Emsoo ward, which has the lowest share. Kapchemutwa ward is 25 percentage points above the county average.

Only 7% of residents in Elgeyo-Marakwet County use electricity as their main source of lighting. A further 47% use lanterns, 28% use tin lamps and 15% use fuel wood. There is no gender differential with the use of electricity, at 7% in households headed by either gender.

 Keiyo North constituency has the highest level of electricity use at 14%. That is 14 percentage points above Marakwet East constituency, which has the lowest level of electricity use. Keiyo North constituency is 7 percentage points above the county average. Kapchemutwa ward has the highest level of electricity use at 26%. That is 26 percentage points above Kapyego, Embobut/Embulot and Arror wards, which have no levels of electricity use. Kapchemutwa ward is 19 percentage points above the county average.

In Elgeyo-Marakwet County, 21% of residents have homes with cement floors, while 77% have earth floors. Less than 1% has tile while 1% has wood floors. Keiyo North constituency has the highest share of cement floors at 33%. That is three times Marakwet East constituency, which has the lowest share of cement floors. Keiyo North constituency is 12 percentage points above the county average. Kapchemutwa ward has the highest share of cement floors at 54%. That is 18 times Embobut/Embulot ward, which has the lowest share of cement floors. Kapchemutwa ward is 33 percentage points above the county average.

In Elgeyo-Marakwet County, less than 1% of residents have homes with concrete roofs, while 58% have corrugated iron sheet roofs. Grass and makuti roofs constitute 39% of homes, and less than 1% has mud/dung roofs.

 Keiyo South constituency has the highest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs at 73%. That is almost thrice Marakwet East constituency, which has the lowest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs. Keiyo South constituency is 15 percentage points above the county average. Kaptarakwa ward has the highest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs at 84%. That is eight times Embobut/Embulot ward, which has the lowest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs. Kaptarakwa ward is 26 percentage points above the county average.

 Marakwet East constituency has the highest share of grass/makuti roofs at 72%. That is three times Keiyo South constituency, which has the lowest share of grass/makuti roofs. Marakwet East constituency is 33 percentage points above the county average. Embobut/Embulot ward has the highest share of grass/makuti roofs at 86%. This is almost 8 times Kaptarakwa ward, which has the lowest share. Embobut/Embulot ward is 47 percentage points above the county average.

In Elgeyo-Marakwet County, 16% of homes have either brick or stone walls; 61% of homes have mud/wood or mud/cement walls; 21% has wood walls and 2% have corrugated iron sheet walls. 1% has grass/thatched walls. 1% has tin or other walls.

 Marakwet East constituency has the highest share of brick/stone walls at 29%. That is five times Keiyo South constituency, which has the lowest share of brick/stone walls. Marakwet East constituency is 13 percentage points above the county average. Arror ward has the highest share of brick/stone walls at 87%. That is 86 percentage points above Kapyego ward, which has the lowest share of brick/stone walls. Arror ward is 71 percentage points above the county average.

 Marakwet West constituency has the highest share of mud with wood/cement walls at 77%. That is 29 percentage points above Keiyo South constituency, which has the lowest share of mud with wood/cement. Marakwet West constituency is 16 percentage points above the county average. Kapyego ward has the highest share of mud with wood/cement walls at 93%. That is eight times Arror ward, which has the lowest share of mud with wood/cement walls. Kapyego ward is 32 percentage points above the county average.

Improved sources of water comprise protected  spring, protected well, borehole, piped into dwelling, piped and rain water collection while unimproved sources include pond, dam, lake, stream/river, unprotected spring, unprotected well, jabia, water vendor and others.

 In Elgeyo-Marakwet County, 37% of residents use improved sources of water, with the rest relying on unimproved sources. There is no significant gender differential in use of improved sources with 37% of male headed households and 36% in female headed households using it.

 Keiyo North constituency has the highest share of residents using improved sources of water at 60%.That is four times Marakwet East constituency, which has the lowest share using improved sources of water. Keiyo North constituency is 23 percentage points above the county average. Kapchemutwa ward has the highest share of residents using improved sources of water at 68%. That is 34 times Embobut/Embulot ward, which has the lowest share of residents using improved sources of water. Kapchemutwa ward is 31 percentage points above the county average.

While 51% of residents in Elgeyo-Marakwet county use improved sanitation, the rest use unimproved sanitation. Use of improved sanitation is insignificantly higher in male headed households at 52% as compared with female headed households at 50%.

Marakwet West constituency has the highest share of residents using improved sanitation at 65%. That is almost twice Keiyo North constituency, which has the lowest share using improved sanitation. Marakwet West constituency is 14 percentage points above the county average. Moiben/Kuserwo ward has the highest share of residents using improved sanitation at 92%. That is five times Arror ward, which has the lowest share using improved sanitation. Moiben/Kuserwo ward is 41 percentage points above the county average.