The Kenyan government has encouraged its out of work citizens to seek employment abroad.

Prime minister Raila Odinga has suggested that the African state has a huge reserve of skilled and educated workers who cannot gain access to the domestic labor market, Capital Business reported.

Addressing expatriates in South Africa, Mr Odinga urged members of the workforce unable to secure permanent employment to seek incomes in other countries, which, if sent home, could create more jobs in Kenya.

He said: "We are urging those who can find job opportunities outside the country to do so and repatriate earnings back home to help in growing the economy."

Last month, a poll conducted by the Federation of Kenyan Employers discovered that close to half of all the country's businesses have frozen recruitment initiatives as a result of the global financial crisis.

A recent report conducted by Amnesty International disclosed that most Kenyans live below the poverty line, with unemployment widespread throughout the country.