Kazakhstan has seen an increase in hired workers and a decrease in self-employed individuals.

The labor market in Kazakhstan in 2024 showed a one-directional trend characterized by an increase in hired employment and a decrease in the number of self-employed individuals, reports inbusiness.kz citing the analytical center Halyk Finance.

Among hired workers, the highest concentration of jobs is observed in education and industry, while self-employed individuals primarily work in agriculture and commerce. Territorial concentration of employment plays a significant role—metropolises and industrial regions continue to attract more hired workers, whereas self-employed individuals dominate in rural areas. The development of new forms of employment, such as remote work and platform-based jobs, indicates a gradual modernization of the labor market. At the same time, further reduction of the shadow economy, as well as regional and gender imbalances, remain important challenges for achieving sustainable economic and labor sector growth.

According to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics, by the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, the number of employed in the economy reached approximately 9.2 million people, of which 7 million (76.6%) were hired workers and 2.2 million (23.4%) were self-employed. Throughout 2024, the total number of employed increased by 115,000 people (+1.3%). The growth in employment was driven by hired workers, whose numbers rose by 154,000 (+2.2%), while the self-employed decreased by 39,000 (-1.8%).

During the reporting period, the share of hired workers in the workforce (9.6 million people) accounted for 73.1%, self-employed individuals made up 22.3%, and the unemployed constituted 4.6%. The majority of hired workers at the end of 2024 were employed in organizations—84.3%, while 11.1% were hired by individual private citizens, 3.9% were employed in peasant or farming households, and the remaining 0.9% worked under civil contracts. About 46.7% of hired employees possess higher and postgraduate education, nearly half have technical and vocational education, and 3.7% have secondary education. Most hired workers conduct their activities in urban areas (66.8%), with a nearly equal proportion of men and women among urban workers and a slight predominance of men among rural workers (52.6%).

If we examine the structure of hired workers by types of economic activity, they are most concentrated in education (16.6%), industry (15.2%), and commerce (12.3%), while the least are found in the arts and entertainment sector (2.0%), real estate transactions (1.7%), and water supply (1.1%). Hired workers primarily operate in large metropolises—Almaty (13.5%) and Astana (8.2%). Among regions, the leaders are Almaty (7.4%), Karaganda (6.8%), and Turkestan (6.2%) regions. The fewest hired workers are in the eastern part of the country—in Abai (2.5%) and Ulytau (1.3%) regions.

The remaining categories of the employed population are accounted for as self-employed in official statistics. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the majority of them (78.9%) were represented by individual entrepreneurs and independent workers (18.6%). The latter, in essence, are self-employed. About 60.6% of individual entrepreneurs have technical and vocational education, and approximately one-third hold higher and postgraduate degrees. Among independent workers, more than half have technical and vocational education, although 35.1% have only secondary education. In contrast to hired workers, the majority of self-employed individuals work in rural areas (52.2%), with men being more prevalent both in urban (52.6%) and rural (58.3%) settings.

The overwhelming majority of self-employed individuals, or 2 million people, are considered "productively employed," with incomes exceeding the subsistence minimum. Among the unproductively employed—164,000 individuals—a large portion consists of unregistered independent workers. Many self-employed individuals are represented across several sectors of the economy—commerce (31.7%), agriculture (23.1%), transport (12.5%), and construction (7.2%). Less than 1% of the self-employed work in healthcare, finance and insurance, and the arts and entertainment sector. The highest number of self-employed individuals is found in Turkestan (17.4%) and Zhambyl (8.4%) regions, followed by the cities of Almaty (6.0%) and Shymkent (6.9%). The least are in Mangystau (1.9%) and Ulytau (0.4%) regions.

Overall, trends in the country's labor market indicate a gradual reduction in informal employment. This may be linked to changes in the tax regime by the state. Last year, the Unified Cumulative Payment (ECP), which had previously operated under a preferential regime since 2019 and was a universal payment for the self-employed, combining income tax, pension contributions, medical insurance, and social benefits, was abolished. As a result, some self-employed individuals likely classified themselves as individual entrepreneurs or transitioned to hired work. To further support this trend and gradually formalize the economy, state measures must focus not only on tightening control but also on developing human capital, which is one of the key goals of the Labor Market Development Concept for 2024-2029.

Metropolises—Almaty and Astana—remain the main employment centers, while rural areas and less developed regions experience a shortage of jobs. This intensifies migration flows, which, on one hand, fosters economic growth in large cities, but on the other hand, places additional strain on infrastructure and increases competition in the labor market. As a result, many working-age citizens, especially youth, face challenges in finding stable employment. This is particularly evident in the northern and eastern regions of Kazakhstan, where disparities in wages and income can exacerbate issues of poverty and inequality. Addressing these issues requires a comprehensive approach, including infrastructure development in villages and mono-cities, as well as support for youth employment.

"In the context of digitalization and changes in the employment structure, it is crucial to support the development of flexible forms of labor, such as remote work, freelance, and short-term contracts. This is especially relevant for women, youth, and people with disabilities, who often require more flexible working conditions. Government measures should include further development of the legal framework to regulate such forms of employment (such as the platform employment law adopted in July 2024) and protect the rights of workers in non-standard conditions.

Employment support measures should also consider gender aspects, particularly in rural areas. While the number of working men and women in cities is roughly equal, in rural areas, both among hired and self-employed individuals, there is a lower level of women's labor activity. Overcoming such gender inequality in the labor market could become one of the important sources for qualitative economic growth," – writes HF analyst Sanjar Kaldarov.

Self-employed individuals are those individuals in the labor force who fall into (1) employers using the labor of hired workers; (2) individually engaged persons (including those engaged in personal subsidiary farming for income); (3) unpaid workers in family businesses (farms); (4) members of production cooperatives.
(Methodology for determining the number of self-employed, their average monthly income levels, and the number of unemployed population according to the National Bureau of Statistics from January 19, 2016).