Which occupations are most frequently chosen by the younger generation?
Freshening up Kazakhstan's Youth Employment Scenario
By 2024, the abundance of youthful workers aged 15 to 28 in Kazakhstan swelled to 1.8 million, scaling up by 0.6% when compared to the preceding year, as reported by Liter.kz, based on data from Finprom.kz.
The bustling city of Almaty led the pack, with an impressive 243,2 thousand young employees, marking a significant 5% growth compared to the previous year. Trailing closely were the Almaty and Turkestan regions. On the flip side, the minimal numbers were recorded in Ulytau, North Kazakhstan, and Jetisu regions.
Analysts noted that a whopping 1.4 million of these young workers were employed as hired workers, making up 77.7% of the total labor force. Additionally, there were 331,9 thousand independent entrepreneurs, 58,3 thousand independent workers, 2,7 thousand physical persons being founders (participants) of partnerships, joint-stock companies or cooperative societies, and 2,4 thousand persons engaged in private practice.
The majority of youth aged 28 and below were employed as professional specialists, counting 424,4 thousand of them. Next came service and sales workers (291,7 thousand), unskilled workers (281,7 thousand), technicians and other auxiliary professionals (195,1 thousand), and industrial, construction, transport, and related workers (142,6 thousand).
According to the report, most youth employment in Kazakhstan was concentrated in wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, education, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing. The fewest youth employees were found in water supply, electricity supply, and real estate operations.
During the same year, the rate of unemployed youth aged 15 to 28 saw a significant 6.7% drop compared to the prior year. The unemployment rate for the 16-24 age group stood at 3.7%, while it lowered to 3% for the 25-28 cohort. However, the national average for the total working-age population was a touch higher at 4.7%.
In terms of regional distribution, Almaty, Nur-Sultan, and Almaty Region recorded the highest number of unemployed youth. Interestingly, regions with the lowest numbers of unemployed youth were Ulytau, Pavlodar, and North Kazakhstan.
Delve Deeper:Looking further into the landscape of youth employment in Kazakhstan, we see an intricate blend of infrastructural advancements, regional variances, and evolving trends influenced by recent initiatives:
- Infrastructure's Role: The Western Europe-Western China corridor projects provided approximately 50,000 construction jobs and 1,200 permanent maintenance roles, stimulating youth employment through tailored training programs[5].
- Sectoral Growth: Major gains in retail and wholesale trade were observed, thanks to road projects, opening up indirect employment opportunities[5].
- Mobility Enhancement: Improved connectivity boosted optimism about job prospects among residents, soaring from 20% to 83% between 2009 and 2020 in project areas[5].
- Geographic Shifts: Underdeveloped southern regions observed disproportionate benefits from transport projects, encouraging a halt in youth migration patterns[5].
- Urban-Rural Perspective: Better road infrastructure served to bridge employment access gaps between urban centers and remote areas, especially benefiting women's healthcare access in rural regions[5].
- Construction Impact: Both temporary construction positions and long-term maintenance roles complemented each other in offering immediate and stable employment respectively[5].
- Emerging Industries: The surge in connectivity favored service industries, but manufacturing and tech sectors remain underrepresented in the data available so far[5].
[5] Source: Asian Development Bank, Regional Economic Integration in Eurasia, 2020.
- In Kazakhstan, the number of entrepreneurs aged 15 to 28 increased by 5% in the bustling city of Almaty, contributing to the overall swell of 1.8 million young workers by 2024.
- The education and self-development sector saw the employment of 424,4 thousand youth aged 28 and below, making up a significant portion of the total young workforce in Kazakhstan.
- Career development opportunities for young workers are being stimulated through tailored training programs associated with infrastructure advancements, like the Western Europe-Western China corridor projects, which provided 50,000 construction jobs.
- Job-search prospects are improving in underdeveloped southern regions due to disproportionate benefits from transport projects making it possible for youth migration patterns to be halted.
- Skills training is needed to address the underrepresentation of the manufacturing and tech sectors in the growing service industry, as improved connectivity continues to favor these emerging industries in Kazakhstan.
