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 9.3 up to ward level.

Table 9: Overall Employment by Education Levels in Isiolo County

In Isiolo County, 7% of the residents with no formal education, 17% of those with a primary level of education and 37% of those with a secondary level of education or above are working for pay. Work for pay is highest in Nairobi at 49%; this is 12 percentage points above the level in Isiolo 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. Isiolo County’s Gini index is 0.431 compared with Turkana County, which has the least inequality nationally (0.283).

Only 2% of residents in Isiolo County use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), while 3% use paraffin, 65% use firewood and 29% use charcoal. Firewood is the most common cooking fuel by gender with 63% of male headed households and 67% of female headed households using it.

Isiolo South constituency has the highest level of firewood use in Isiolo County at 94%.This is 40 percentage points above Isiolo North constituency, which has the lowest share at 54%. Isiolo South constituency is about 29 percentage points above the county average. Chari ward has the highest level of firewood use in Isiolo County at 98%.This is eight times Bula Pesa ward, which has the lowest share at 12%. Chari ward is 33 percentage points above the county average.

Isiolo North constituency has the highest level of charcoal use in Isiolo County at 39%.This is almost eight times Isiolo South constituency, which has the lowest share at 5%. Isiolo North constituency is about 10 percentage points above the county average. Bula Pesa ward has the highest level of charcoal use in Isiolo County at 74%.This is 72 percentage points more than Chari ward, which has the lowest share at 2%. Bula Pesa ward is 45 percentage points above the county average.

A total of 19% of residents in Isiolo County use electricity as their main source of lighting. A further 31% use lanterns, 20% use tin lamps, and 23% use fuel wood. Electricity use is more common in male headed households at 20% as compared with female headed households at 16%.

Isiolo North constituency has the highest level of electricity use at 26%. This is 25 percentage points above Isiolo South constituency, which has the lowest level of electricity use. Isiolo North is 7 percentage points above the county average. Wabera ward has the highest level of electricity use at 54%. That is 54 percentage points above Chari ward, which has the lowest level of electricity use. Wabera ward is 35 percentage points above the county average.

In Isiolo County, 29% of residents have homes with cement floors, while 70% have earth floors. Less than 1% has wood and just 1% has tile floors. Isiolo North constituency has the highest share of cement floors at 38%. This is six times Isiolo South constituency, which has the lowest share of cement floors. Isiolo North constituency is 9 percentage points above the county average. Bula Pesa ward has the highest share of cement floors at 74%. This is 73 percentage points above Chari ward, which has the lowest share of cement floors. Bula Pesa ward is 45 percentage points above the county average.

In Isiolo County, less than 1% of residents have homes with concrete roofs, while 61% has corrugated iron roofs. Grass and makuti roofs cover 27% of homes, and 3% have mud/dung roofs.

Isiolo North constituency has the highest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs at 66%. This is 20 percentage points above Isiolo South constituency, which has the lowest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs. Isiolo North is 5 percentage points above the county average. Bula Pesa ward has the highest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs at 96%. This is almost 11 times Oldonyiro ward, which has the lowest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs. Bula Pesa ward is 35 percentage points above the county average.

Isiolo South constituency has the highest share of grass/makuti roofs at 52%. That is three times Isiolo North constituency, which has the lowest share of grass/makuti roofs. Isiolo South constituency is 25 percentage points above the county average. Garbatula ward has the highest share of grass/makuti roofs at 63%. This is 63 percentage points above Bula Pesa ward, which has the lowest share. Garbatula ward is 36 percentage points above the county average.

In Isiolo County, 17% of homes have either brick or stone walls, 35% have mud/wood or mud/cement walls, 22% have wood walls and 1% has corrugated iron walls. Another 18% have grass/thatched walls, while 7% have tin or other walls.

Isiolo North constituency has the highest share of brick/stone walls at 23%. That is seven times Isiolo South constituency, which has the lowest share of brick/stone walls. Isiolo North constituency is 6 percentage points above the county average. Bula Pesa ward has the highest share of brick/stone walls at 44%. This is 43 percentage points above Chari ward, which has the lowest share of brick/stone walls. Bula Pesa ward is 27 percentage points above the county average.

Isiolo South constituency has the highest share of mud with wood/cement walls at 47%. This is 17 percentage points above Isiolo North constituency, which has the lowest share of mud with wood/cement. Isiolo South constituency is 12 percentage points above the county average. Sericho ward has the highest share of mud with wood/cement walls at 66%. That is almost 17 times Wabera ward, which has the lowest share of mud with wood/cement walls. Sericho ward is 31 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 Isiolo County, 59% 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 male headed households at 59% in comparison with 60% in female headed households.

Isiolo North constituency has the highest share of residents using improved sources of water at 60%.This is 2 percentage points above Isiolo South constituency, which has the lowest share of residents using improved sources of water. Isiolo North constituency is 1 percentage points above the county average. Wabera  has the highest share of residents using improved sources of water at 88% each. This is 18 times Oldonyiro ward, which has the lowest share using improved sources of water. Wabera is 29 percentage points above the county average.

While 40% of residents in Isiolo county use improved sanitation, the rest use unimproved sanitation. There is no significant gender differential as 40% of male headed households and 41% of female headed households use improved sanitation.

Isiolo North constituency has the highest share of residents using improved sanitation at 43%. This is 9 percentage points above Isiolo South constituency, which has the lowest share of residents using improved sanitation. Isiolo North constituency is 3 percentage points above the county average. Bula Pesa ward has the highest share of residents using improved sanitation at 81%. This is almost 41 times Oldonyiro ward, which has the lowest share of using improved sanitation. Bula Pesa ward is 41 percentage points above the county average.