Kazakhstan’s Oil-Rich West Is Struggling To Create Jobs

Kazakhstan’s labor market is slowly improving, but the pace varies sharply by region, Orda.kz reports, citing Energyprom.kz analysts.

Over the past 15 years, the national unemployment rate has fallen from 5.5% to 4.5%, according to data for the first quarter of 2026. In cities, the rate dropped from 5.9% to 4.5%, while in rural areas it declined from 5.1% to 4.6%.

Women still face worse labor market conditions than men. At the beginning of 2026, unemployment among women stood at 5%, compared with 4% among men. Fifteen years ago, the gap was wider — 6.3% versus 4.7% — but the imbalance has not disappeared.

The problem is most acute in Mangistau Region, one of Kazakhstan’s key oil-producing areas. The overall unemployment rate there is 5%, already above the national average. But the headline figure hides a striking gender gap: unemployment among men is 2%, while among women it reaches 8.4%. This is the widest gap of any region in Kazakhstan. For comparison, the national female unemployment rate is 5%.

Of the region’s 20,000 unemployed residents, almost half — about 10,000 people — are out of work because of household duties or family circumstances. Another 2,700 said they could not find a job, while nearly 3,600 lost work because of layoffs or company closures.

The vacancy market reflects the same problem. In June 2026, only 658 job postings were listed on the Enbek portal in Mangistau Region — 1.2% of the national total. Only Kyzylorda Region had fewer. By comparison, Karaganda Region had 2,800 vacancies, while East Kazakhstan Region had 2,600.

The structure of available jobs is also revealing. Most vacancies were in education and medicine, while the oil and gas sector — the backbone of the regional economy — offered only 20 positions. IT had just six.

HeadHunter data show a similar picture. In the first quarter of 2026, Aktau accounted for 1.5% of all vacancies in Kazakhstan, and the number of postings there fell by another 10.9% year-on-year. Almaty, by contrast, accounted for 40% of job offers, while Astana had almost 23%.

At the same time, Mangistau remains one of Kazakhstan’s richest regions and one of the country’s main sources of oil rent.

Original author: Ilya Astakhov

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