In the fourth quarter of last year, Kazakhstan had 448.2 thousand unemployed individuals, which is a 0.5% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Among them, there were 211.1 thousand men and 237.1 thousand women, according to Finprom.kz.
The highest number of unemployed was recorded in Almaty: 51.9 thousand people — a 0.4% increase from the previous year. The second and third positions of unemployment were held by Turkestan (40.9 thousand people) and Almaty (35.5 thousand people) regions.
The lowest number of unemployed was observed in Ulytau (4.2 thousand people), North Kazakhstan (13.1 thousand people), and Abai (14.5 thousand people) regions.
The most common reason for unemployment remains the inability to find work: in 2024, this affected 112.6 thousand Kazakhstani citizens — a 37.9% increase compared to the previous year.
The second most common reason was voluntary resignation (104.8 thousand people), followed by lack of work due to family circumstances (61.5 thousand people).
Other reasons for unemployment included liquidation or bankruptcy of an organization, as well as staff reduction (50.3 thousand people), managing a household (44.2 thousand people), health issues (17.6 thousand people), expiration of an employment contract (17.3 thousand people), lack of work after graduating from educational institutions (16.6 thousand people), and seasonal work (10.3 thousand people).
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Among all unemployed, the largest number consisted of those who were searching for work for less than one month: 125.6 thousand people at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024 — an 11.5% increase compared to the previous year.
Those looking for work from 1 to 3 months numbered slightly fewer: 124.4 thousand people. An additional 109.4 thousand people were searching for 3 to 6 months.
More than a year was spent searching for work by 53.7 thousand people — a 7.3% increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.
The number of unemployed who had an agreement to start work or a business decreased to 120 individuals, down from 1.2 thousand a year earlier.
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The unemployment rate in Kazakhstan in the fourth quarter of last year was 4.6%, including 4.2% among men and 5.1% among women. In urban areas, the unemployment rate was also 4.6%, while in rural areas it was slightly higher at 4.7%.
According to the Trading Economics ranking, with this unemployment rate (4.6%), Kazakhstan ranked 74th among 182 countries.
The lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Belarus (0.1%), Qatar (0.1%), Cambodia (0.2%), Niger (0.5%), and Burundi (0.9%). The highest rates were observed in South Africa (32.1%), Angola (30.8%), and Palestine (30.7%).
Among the CIS countries, Kazakhstan found itself in the middle of the list. A lower unemployment rate was noted in Kyrgyzstan (1.9%), Russia (2.3%), Moldova (3.6%), and Turkmenistan (4.2%). Higher rates were reported in Azerbaijan (5.6%), Uzbekistan (6.8%), Tajikistan (6.9%), and Ukraine* (10.5%).
* Ukraine has a disputed status in the CIS for a variety of reasons.
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