On November 10, the head of the Kyzylorda region, Murat Yerjashebaev, held a meeting on employment and support for youth aged 15 to 34 in the NEET category - those who are not working, studying or undergoing professional training. The local authorities intend to compile a detailed social profile of this population group for the purpose of comprehensive work with them. Behind the regional agenda is a national mission: Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan) will have to provide employment for the rapidly growing generation entering the labor market.
Demographic growth increases the labor supply faster than the economy produces quality jobs.
According to the data of the Ministry of Labor of the Republic of Kazakhstan, according to the results of the second quarter of 2026, there were 312.9 thousand young people from the NEET category in the country. Their share was 5.7% of the youth of the republic.
Official unemployment among the 15-34 year old population was 2.9%. The difference is explained in the methodology: the NEET category includes not only those who are looking for a job, but also those who are not studying or undergoing professional training, including those who are not trying to find a job through the official channels.
The authorities assessed the scope of the demographic challenge in the concept for the development of a safe labor market and industrial safety of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2030.
According to the document, by 2030 the annual influx of young people into the labor market will exceed 300 thousand people - this is a result of the demographic growth of the 2000s.
At the same time, the state registers an insufficient amount of quality jobs, weak diversification in the economy and a mismatch between the training of experts and business requirements. The document also states that up to a quarter of technical and professional education graduates work outside their specialization.
The problem has a prominent regional dimension. More than a third of the workforce by 2030, according to the forecast, will be concentrated in the southern macro-region, which includes the Kyzylorda region.