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 24.3 up to ward level.

 Table 24: Overall Employment by education Levels in Mandera County

In Mandera County, 7% of the residents with no formal education are working for pay, 5% of those with a primary level of education and 14% for those with a secondary level of education or above. Work for pay is highest in Nairobi at 49% and this is thrice the level in Mandera 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. Mandera County’s Gini index is 0.332 compared with Turkana County, which has the least inequality nationally (0.283).

Less than 1% of residents in Mandera County use Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and less than 1% use paraffin. 93% use firewood and 6% use charcoal. Firewood is the most common cooking fuel by gender; 94% in male headed households and 90% in female headed households.

 Three constituencies, Lafey, Mandera West and Mandera South, have the highest level of firewood use at 98% each. This is 30 percentage points above Mandera East constituency, which has the lowest share. Lafey, Mandera West and Mandera South are about 5 percentage points above the county average. Fino ward has the highest level of firewood use at 100%.This is 58 percentage points above Township ward, which has the lowest share. Fino ward is 7 percentage points above the county average.

 Mandera East constituency has the highest level of charcoal use in Mandera County at 30%.This is 29 percentage points above Mandera West constituency, which has the lowest share. Mandera East is 24 percentage points above the county average. Township ward has the highest level of charcoal use in Mandera County at 54%. This is 54 percentage points more than Fino ward which has the lowest share. Township is 48 percentage points above the county average.

Only 3% of residents in Mandera County use electricity as their main source of lighting. A further 33% use lanterns, and 13% use tin lamps. 37% use fuel wood. Electricity use is mostly common in female headed households at 5% compared with male headed households at 2%.

Mandera East constituency has the highest level of electricity use at 15%.That is 15 percentage points above Mandera West and Banissa constituencies, which have the lowest level of electricity use. Mandera East is 12 percentage points above the county average. Township ward has the highest level of electricity use at 32%.That is 32 percentage points above 12 wards namely, Laghsure, Dandu, Gither, Ashabito, Guticha, Marothile, Rhamu Dimtu, Shambir Fatuma, Arabia, Khalalio, Sala, and Fino wards that have no electricity use. Township ward is 29 percentage points above the county average.

In Mandera County, 7% of residents have homes with cement floors, while 92% have earth floors. 1% has wood and less than 1% has tile floors. Mandera East constituency has the highest share of cement floors at 25%.That is 25 percentage points above Lafey constituency, which has the lowest share of cement floors. Mandera East constituency is 18 percentage points above the county average. Township ward has the highest share of cement floors at 50%.That is 50 percentage points above Guticha ward, which has the lowest share of cement floors. Township ward is 43 percentage points above the county average.

In Mandera County, less than 1% of residents have homes with concrete roofs, while 12% have corrugated iron roofs. Grass and makuti roofs constitute 86% of homes, and less than 1% has mud/dung roofs.

 Mandera East constituency has the highest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs at 30%.That is 29 percentage points above Lafey constituency, which has the lowest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs. Mandera East is 18 percentage points above the county average. Township ward has the highest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs at 58%. That is 58 percentage points above Sala ward, which has the lowest share of corrugated iron sheet roofs. Township is 46 percentage points above the county average.

 Lafey constituency has the highest share of grass/makuti roofs at 96%.That is 28 percentage points above Mandera East constituency, which has the lowest share of grass/makuti roofs. Lafey constituency is 10 percentage points above the county average. Warankara, Fino, Alango Gof, Guticha, and Lafey wards have the highest share of grass/makuti roofs at 99% each. This is almost three times Township ward, which has the lowest share. These five wards are 13 percentage points above the county average.

In Mandera County, 7% of homes have either brick or stone walls,  8% of homes have mud/wood or mud/cement walls,  18% have wood walls,  less than 1% has corrugated iron walls,  64% have grass/thatched walls, and 3% have tin or other walls.

 Mandera East constituency has the highest share of brick/stone walls at 26%.That is 25 percentage points above Lafey constituency, which has the lowest share of brick/stone walls. Mandera East 19 percentage points above the county average. Township ward has the highest share of brick/stone walls at 51%.This is 51 percentage points above Alango Gof ward, which has the lowest share of brick/stone walls. Township ward is 44 percentage points above the county average.

Mandera West constituency has the highest share of mud with wood/cement walls at 14%.This is seven times Lafey constituency, which has the lowest share of mud with wood/cement. Mandera West is 6 percentage points above the county average. Rhamu ward has the highest share of mud with wood/cement walls at 34%.This is 34 percentage points above Alango Gof ward with the lowest share of mud with wood/cement walls. Rhamu is 26 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 Mandera County, 38% of residents use improved sources of water, with the rest relying on unimproved sources. There is no significant gender differential as 38% of male headed households and 39% of female headed households use improved water sources.

Lafey constituency has the highest share of residents using improved sources of water at 75%.That is almost 19 times Mandera West constituency, which has the lowest share using improved sources of water. Lafey constituency is 37 percentage points above the county average. Alango Gof ward has the highest share of residents using improved sources of water at 100%. That is 100 percentage points above Laghsure ward, which has no share of using improved water sources. Alango Gof is 62 percentage points above the county average.

Only 16% of residents in Mandera County use improved sanitation, while the rest use unimproved sanitation. Use of improved sanitation is slightly higher in female headed households at 21% compared with male headed households at 15%.

Mandera East constituency has the highest share of residents using improved sanitation at 33%.That is almost four times Banissa constituency, which has the lowest share using improved sanitation. Mandera East is 17 points above the county average. Township ward has the highest share of residents using improved sanitation at 51%.That is 17 times Guba ward, which has the lowest share using improved sanitation. Township is 35 percentage points above the county average.