Employment Rate In Kazakhstan Falls Despite Lower Unemployment

Kazakhstan’s employment rate stood at 64.7% at the end of 2025, according to data published by the Bureau of National Statistics, Orda.kz reports.

The indicator is calculated by dividing the number of employed people by the total population aged 15 and over. A year earlier, it stood at 65%. At the same time, the unemployment rate — the share of unemployed people in the labour force — also declined.

At the end of last year, unemployment stood at 4.6%, compared with 4.7% in 2024. In total, 9.3 mln people were employed in the economy — 106 500 more than a year earlier. Of them, 7.2 mln, or 76.9% of the total, were salaried employees. Their number increased by 154 000 over the year. Another 2.1 mln people, or 23.1%, were registered as self-employed.

The total labour force amounted to 9.8 mln people. The largest shares of employed people worked in trade at 16.7%, education at 13.2%, industry at 12.4%, and agriculture at 10.6%.

On average, Kazakhstanis worked 39 hours a week last year, one hour less than the standard 40-hour working week. At the same time, salaried employees worked an average of 41 hours a week, while self-employed people worked 36 hours.

Of the 5.3 mln Kazakhstanis in the labour force with higher education, 96.4% were employed. For people with technical and vocational education, this figure was 95.1%, while for those with secondary education it was 89.3%.

Original author: Alexey Afonsky

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