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 6.3 up to ward level.

 Table 6: Overall Employment by education Levels in Embu County

In Embu County, 20% of the residents with no formal education, 22% of those with a primary education and 28% 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 almost twice the level in Embu for those with a 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. Embu County’s Gini index is 0.379 compared with Turkana County, which has the least inequality nationally (0.283).

Only 2% of residents in Embu County use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and 4% use paraffin, while 81% use firewood and 11% use charcoal. Firewood is the most common cooking fuel by gender with no variation for both male and female headed households at 81%.

Runyenjes constituency has the highest level of firewood use in Embu County at 90%. This is 26 percentage points above Manyatta constituency, which has the lowest share. Runyenjes constituency is about 9 percentage points above the county average. Three wards, Miminji, Kithimu and Nginda, have the highest level of firewood use in Embu County at 91%.This is almost four times Kirimani ward, which has the lowest share at 24%. Miminji, Kithimu and Nginda are 10 percentage points above the county average.

Manyatta constituency has the highest level of charcoal use in Embu County at 20%. This is almost three times Mbeere South constituency at 7%. Manyatta constituency is about 9 percentage points above the county average. Kirimani ward has the highest level of charcoal use in Embu County at 38%. This is 36 percentage points more than Kiambere ward, which has the lowest share at 2%. Kirimani ward is 27 percentage points above the county average.

Manyatta constituency has the highest level of paraffin use in Embu County at 8%. This is 4 times more than Runyenjes Constituency that has the lowest share. Manyatta constituency is 4% points above the county average. Kirimani ward has the highest level of paraffin use in Embu County at 20%. This is 20 times Kiambere ward that has almost no share of paraffin use. Kirimani ward is 16% points above the county average.

Only 14% of residents in Embu County use electricity as their main source of lighting. A further 36% use lanterns, and 44% use tin lamps, while 1% use fuel wood. Electricity use is equal in households headed by either gender with both male and female headed households at 14%.

Manyatta constituency has the highest level of electricity use at 29%. That is 25 percentage points above Mbeere South constituency, which has the lowest level of electricity use. Manyatta constituency is 15 percentage points above the county average. Kirimani ward has the highest level of electricity use at 56%. That is 56 percentage points above Kiambere ward, which has the lowest level of electricity use. Kirimani ward is 42 percentage points above the county average.

In Embu County, 40% of residents have homes with cement floors, while 59% have earth floors and 1% has wood and a similar percentage have tile floors. Manyatta constituency has the highest share of cement floors at 55%. That is almost twice Mbeere North constituency, which has the lowest share of cement floors. Manyatta constituency is 15 percentage points above the county average. Kirimani ward has the highest share of cement floors at 82%. That is almost seven times Makima ward, which has the lowest share of cement floors. Kirimani ward is 42 percentage points above the county average.

In Embu County, only 1% of residents have homes with concrete roofs, while 92% have corrugated iron sheet roofs. Grass and makuti roofs cover 3% of homes, and none have mud/dung roofs.

Runyenjes constituency has the highest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs at 96%. That is 9 percentage points above Mbeere South constituency, which has the lowest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs. Runyenjes constituency is 4 percentage points above the county average. Two wards, Central and Kyeni North West, have the highest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs at 98% each. That is 27 percentage points above Makima ward, which has the lowest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs. Central and Kyeni North West are 6 percentage points above the county average.

Mbeere South constituency has the highest share of grass/makuti roofs at 9%. That is 9 percentage points above Manyatta constituency, which has the lowest share of grass/makuti roofs. Mbeere South constituency is 6 percentage points above the county average. Makima ward has the highest share of grass/makuti roofs at Makima 27%. This is 27 percentage points above Kirimani ward, which has no share of grass/makuti roofs. Makima ward is 24 percentage points above the county average.

In Embu County, 38% of homes have either brick or stone walls,32% of homes have mud/wood or mud/cement walls,25% have wood walls, and 2% have corrugated iron walls. Less than 1% has grass/thatched walls, while 3% have tin or other walls.

Mbeere South constituency has the highest share of brick/stone walls at 52%. That is twice Runyenjes constituency, which has the lowest share of brick/stone walls. Mbeere South constituency is 14 percentage points above the county average. Mwea ward has the highest share of brick/stone walls at 81%. That is seven times Nginda ward, which has the lowest share of brick/stone walls. Mwea ward is 43 percentage points above the county average.

Mbeere North constituency has the highest share of mud with wood/cement walls at 57%. That is four times Manyatta constituency, which has the lowest share of mud with wood/cement walls. Mbeere North constituency is 25 percentage points above the county average. Evurore ward has the highest share of mud with wood/cement walls at 73%. That is nine times Ruguru-Ngandori ward, which has the lowest share of mud with wood/cement walls. Evurore ward is 41 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 Embu County, 49% of residents use improved sources of water, with the rest relying on unimproved sources. Use of improved sources is slightly higher in male headed households at 50% as compared with female headed households at 46%.

 Manyatta constituency has the highest share of residents using improved sources of water at 74%. That is almost three times Mbeere North constituency, which has the lowest share of residents using improved sources of water. Manyatta Constituency is 25 percentage points above the county average. Kirimani ward has the highest share of residents using improved sources of water at 87%. That is six times Evurore ward, which has the lowest share of residents using improved sources of water. Kirimani ward is 38 percentage points above the county average.

65% of residents in Embu county use improved sanitation, while the rest use unimproved sanitation. There is no significant gender differential in the use of improved sanitation at 65% of male headed households and 64% of female headed households.

Manyatta constituency has the highest share of residents using improved sanitation at 73%. That is 14 percentage points above Mbeere South constituency, which has the lowest share using improved sanitation. Manyatta constituency is 8 percentage points above the county average. Nthawa ward has the highest share of residents using improved sanitation at 89%. That is three times Mbeti South ward, which has the lowest share using improved sanitation. Nthawa ward is 24 percentage points above the county average.