9cv9 Research Report · April 2026
State of Hiring & Recruitment
in Kazakhstan 2026
in Kazakhstan 2026
A comprehensive analysis of Kazakhstan's labor market, talent acquisition trends, salary benchmarks, and recruitment outlook — backed by verified data from official government statistics, ILO, World Bank, and industry surveys.
2026
9.32M
Total Employed Population (2025)
4.6%
Unemployment Rate (ILO, Q3 2025)
67%
Employment Rate — Ranked 29th Globally
1.328M
Job Vacancies Posted in 2025
01
Labor Market Fundamentals
9,320,000
Total employed people (2025)
Up 106,000 from 2024, reflecting consistent positive labor market dynamics per Qazinform (Apr 2026)
↑ +1.1% YoY
9.78M
Total labor force (Q3 2025)
Expanded by 96,311 year-on-year. Source: Bureau of National Statistics of Kazakhstan
↑ Growing
64.8%
Employment rate (Q3 2025)
Among population aged 15+. Reflects strong and broad labor force participation. Source: stat.gov.kz
↑ Improving
4.6%
Unemployment rate (ILO, 5 consecutive quarters)
Highly stable — held at exactly 4.6% for five straight quarters through Q3 2025. Source: Trading Economics / BNS
Stable
451,500
Unemployed individuals (Q1 2025)
Decreased by 1,200 from a year earlier. Source: Bureau of National Statistics
↓ Declining
3.3%
Registered unemployed (share of labor force)
Only 323,700 officially registered — far fewer than ILO-counted unemployed, signaling underutilization of employment centers
March 2025
Employment by Sector Share (Q1 2025)
Trade & Retail
Education
Industry
Agriculture
02
Salaries & Compensation
₸473,158
Avg monthly wage — Q4 2025
Highest quarterly figure on record. Source: Trading Economics / Bureau of National Statistics
↑ Record High
₸405,416
Annual average salary (full year 2024)
Up 11.3% vs 2023 (+2.4% in real terms). Source: stat.gov.kz Annual Wage Report 2025
↑ +11.3% nominal
₸317,512
Median wage (2025 annual)
Rose 11.1% vs 2024; real increase only 0.4%, reflecting inflationary pressures. Source: stat.gov.kz
Median
₸85,000
Minimum wage (from Jan 1, 2025)
Set by government decree. Entry-level workers in agriculture and services cluster near this floor. Source: Bureau of National Statistics
Legal Floor
53.7%
Employees earning ₸300,001+ per month
Majority of workers now earn above ₸300K — a significant structural shift. Source: stat.gov.kz 2025 Wage Differentiation Report
↑ Majority
₸640,938
Highest regional salary — Atyrau Region
Driven by oil & gas sector. Atyrau commands 2× the wage of Turkestan region. Source: WageCentre.com / BNS
↑ Highest
Salary by Education Level (2025 — Annual Survey)
₸289,673
Secondary Education
₸497,563
Higher Education (University Degree)
₸672,493
Postgraduate Education (Master's / PhD)
Source: Bureau of National Statistics of Kazakhstan — 2025 Wage Differentiation Report (stat.gov.kz/api/iblock/element/458522)
03
Job Vacancies & Talent Demand
1.328 million job vacancies were posted in Kazakhstan in 2025 — yet job seekers uploaded 1.454 million profiles, meaning labor supply exceeded demand by ~125,800 applicants.
Source: Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, Kazakhstan | The Astana Times, February 2026
380,600
Education sector vacancies (2025)
28.7% of all vacancies — the single largest hiring sector. Source: Ministry of Labor and Social Protection
175,400
Other Service Activities vacancies
13.2% of all postings, 2nd largest sector overall. Source: Ministry of Labor and Social Protection
117,400
Healthcare vacancies (2025)
8.8% of all job postings; nurses top the most-wanted list at 21,700 openings. Source: The Astana Times
75%
Vacancies requiring skilled labor
999,000 of 1.328M total openings. Half of all jobs (665,500) were for "working-class" roles. Source: Ministry of Labor
63,871
Open job vacancies at enterprises (Q3 2025)
Up 1,572 from Q2 2025 — a sign of growing talent shortage. Source: stat.gov.kz Q3 2025 report
↑ Increasing
21,700
Nurse & medical assistant openings — #1 job
Salary: ₸143,000–₸178,000/month. Kindergarten teachers follow with 21,200 openings. Source: The Astana Times
Top Regions by Vacancy Count (2025)
Almaty City
Astana City
Pavlodar Region
Karagandy Region
04
IT & Tech Hiring Landscape
$1.8B
IT services market — projected value by 2029
9.36% CAGR. Kazakhstan's tech sector pivots from oil to digital. Source: NuCamp / Statista
↑ 9.36% CAGR
19,500
Registered programmers, developers, AI specialists
As of June 2025 (excludes embedded IT workers in oil, energy & metallurgy). Source: Times of Central Asia
2.8×
IT wage premium over national average (2025)
Up from 1.7× in 2020 — the wage gap between IT pros and average workers widened sharply. Source: Times of Central Asia
↑ Widening
₸1.2M
Average IT programming & consulting salary (Q2 2025)
Rose 2.5× from 2020 levels. Source: Bureau of National Statistics / Times of Central Asia (Sep 2025)
↑ 2.5× since 2020
₸1.6M
ML Engineer monthly salary — highest IT role
~$2,900/month. Data Scientists earn ₸1.1M; Data Warehouse Specialists ₸1.08M. Source: Times of Central Asia
17:1
IT job seeker-to-vacancy ratio
9,700 resumes vs 580 IT vacancies on national labor exchange — fierce competition. Source: Times of Central Asia (Sep 2025)
High Competition
1,500+
Companies at Astana Hub including 400+ international firms
111
Countries receiving Kazakhstan IT exports by end of 2025 (up from 86)
371K+
Citizens trained in AI skills via Astana Hub's AI Movement initiative (2025)
05
Recruitment Trends & Behavior
48%
Job seekers found work in under 1 month (2025)
Up from 42% in 2022. Fast job turnover dominates Kazakhstan's hiring market. Source: Antal Kazakhstan Survey 2025-26
↑ Accelerating
60%+
Candidates find new job within 3 months
This rapid turnover creates pressure on employers to act fast and maintain strong retention strategies. Source: Antal Kazakhstan
20%
Employees actively looking for a new job (2025)
Up 3 percentage points vs 2024, signaling rising workforce restlessness. Source: Antal Kazakhstan Survey
↑ +3pp YoY
54%
Higher salary — #1 reason to switch jobs
More than half of movers cite salary as primary motivation. Source: Antal Kazakhstan 2025–2026 Survey
27%
Expected 21–30% salary increase when changing jobs
The most common salary expectation band. 25% expect 50%+ increase. Source: Antal Kazakhstan Survey
48%
Respondents whose salary did NOT change in 2025
Despite inflation. 7% reported a salary decrease. Source: Antal Kazakhstan Survey 2025–2026
Stagnation Risk
Top Job Search Channels (Kazakhstan 2024–25)
Source: Antal Kazakhstan Job Market Overview & Salary Survey 2025–2026 | Respondents who searched for work May 2024–May 2025
06
Workforce Structure & Demographics
76.9%
Share of salaried (hired) workers (Q1 2025)
7.1M of 9.3M employed — formal employment dominates. Source: Bureau of National Statistics
23.1%
Self-employed workers (Q1 2025)
2.2M self-employed individuals — indicating a vibrant informal economic layer. Source: BNS Q1 2025
942,000
Informally employed (2025)
Down 15% (from 1.11M in 2024) — a significant formalisation trend. Source: Qazinform (Apr 2026)
↓ -15% YoY
62.2%
Working-age population (15–64 years)
Kazakhstan's median age is just under 30 — one of the world's youngest large economies. Source: Antal Kazakhstan 2025–26
21M
Kazakhstan total population (mid-2025)
30% are children under 15 — future labor market growth pipeline. Source: Antal Kazakhstan Survey 2025–26
39 hrs
Average actual working week (Q1 2025)
Salaried: 41 hours; Self-employed: 36 hours on average. Source: Bureau of National Statistics
Per Week
NEET & Youth Employment Indicators (2025)
6.2%
NEET youth — neither employed, educated nor in training (Q1 2025)
3.1%
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15–34, ILO methodology)
1.8M
Young people (15–28) employed in 2024 — up 0.6% YoY
07
Employer Trends & AI in Recruitment
60%+
Companies using AI tools in HR processes
Data analysis, HR automation and client engagement are top use cases. Source: Antal Kazakhstan Survey 2025–26
↑ Mainstream
70%+
Employers planning salary reviews in 2026
Most within 10–20% increase range. Driven by inflation and competition for talent. Source: Antal Kazakhstan
~50%
Employers highlighting skills shortage as top challenge
Near-half of respondents cite the shortage of qualified specialists as the #1 HR challenge. Source: Antal Kazakhstan
55%
International companies in Kazakhstan's market
55% of surveyed companies have HQ abroad vs 45% local Kazakhstani firms. Source: Antal Kazakhstan Survey
91%
Workers employed under Kazakhstan Labor Code contract
3% contracted via outsourcing companies; formal employment is overwhelmingly dominant. Source: Antal Kazakhstan
41%
Companies with fewer than 101 employees
SMEs dominate; 23% have 1,000+ employees. Recruitment complexity varies widely by size. Source: Antal Kazakhstan
08
Economic Outlook & 2026 Projections
4.0%
GDP growth — 2024 estimate
Driven by oil export revenue, fiscal stimulus and strong domestic consumption. Source: 9cv9 Blog / World Bank
4.5–5.0%
GDP growth projected — 2025
Boosted by one-time oil production surge and export-led expansion. Source: 9cv9 Blog Kazakhstan 2025
↑ Accelerating
4.5%
World Bank GDP growth forecast — 2026
World Bank projects continued solid growth as Kazakhstan diversifies beyond hydrocarbons. Source: The Astana Times
6%
Inflation forecast for 2026
Cooling from higher levels — positive signal for real wage growth and purchasing power. Source: EWS Limited (Feb 2026)
↓ Cooling
$5B
IT export target by 2029 (government goal)
Kazakhstan's National AI Concept (2024–2029) sets ambitious digital economy targets. Source: GlobalCIO.com
5 🦄
Kazakhstani tech unicorns targeted by 2029
Government aims to create 5 startups with $1B+ valuations under AI Development Concept 2024–2029. Source: GlobalCIO