Kazakhstan plans to increase the number of quality jobs to 3.8 million by 2029, which would account for 45% of total employment in the country. These targets are set in the Concept for the Development of the Labor Market for 2024–2029, reports infohub.kz.
A quality job is not just any formal employment. It must provide work for at least six months a year, a salary not lower than the median level in the respective region, safe working conditions, and social protection for the employee.
In recent years, the number of Kazakhstani citizens employed in such positions has been steadily growing. In 2024, this figure stood at 2.473 million people, and by the end of 2025 it reached 2.885 million. The plan for 2026 is 3.085 million.
In addition to improving the quality of employment, the authorities plan to employ 544,000 Kazakhstani citizens this year under regional employment maps. A significant part of the annual plan has already been fulfilled: by August 1, 388,000 people had found work.
Of these, 160,000 were employed thanks to private initiatives. Another 122,400 people found work through employer vacancies, and 89,600 were placed in subsidized jobs. National projects provided employment for 16,400 citizens.
The mechanism of state interaction with the unemployed is also changing. Kazakhstan is introducing a "Digital Employment Service" that, using data and artificial intelligence, should accompany a person from finding a suitable vacancy to starting work.
So far, the project operates in two regions — Pavlodar and Mangystau oblasts. The system is designed not only for officially registered unemployed people. It also covers unregistered citizens, those who have been registered for more than six months, and young people in the NEET category.
For each participant, the system automatically creates an individual plan. Job offers are generated based on the person's profile. The search is not limited to their region — vacancies in other regions, opportunities at large enterprises, and options within resettlement programs are considered.
Another area of labor market development is specialist training. Over the past five years, the number of students in technical and vocational education institutions has increased by 13.7%.
In 2025, 562,000 people studied in such institutions. In the future, the authorities intend to align personnel training with the needs of enterprises and the labor market situation.