ASTANA – Kazakhstan employed 908,500 people as part of the regional employment maps in 11 months of this year, the Prime Minister’s press service reported in a Dec. 21 review of the country’s development in the social sphere over 2023.
Photo credit: gov.kz
According to Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Population Svetlana Zhakupova, 196,300 people were employed through state-subsidized jobs during the same period.
Citizens from socially vulnerable segments of the population were given 9,100 government grants in the amount of about 1.3 million tenge ($2.8 billion) to start their own businesses. With this initiative, new sewing workshops, bakeries, beauty salons, dairy and other industries began operating.
In March, Kazakhstan launched a preferential lending program at 2.5% interest for young people aged 21 to 35 who wanted to start their own businesses or were already engaged in entrepreneurship. As a result, 5,400 business projects were approved at a value of 25.4 billion tenge ($55.7 million).
From Jan. 1, Kazakhstan continued to gradually increase wages for about 600,000 civil servants of certain categories by an average of 20% annually. By 2025, their salaries are expected to double.
In particular, salaries for specific groups, such as teachers and medical specialists, were increased, and additional payments were established for high-risk professions, such as rescuers.
Starting Jan. 1, the amounts of all benefits paid from the state budget were increased by 8.5%, benefiting approximately two million recipients. Over 1.1 trillion tenge ($2.4 billion) was allocated for these payments.
As of Dec. 1, there were 2.3 million pensioners in Kazakhstan, and over 3 trillion tenge ($6.5 billion) has been allocated for pension payments since Jan. 1. Joint pensions experienced a growth of 10.5%.
At the initiative of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the implementation mechanism for the National Fund for Children has been developed, with necessary legislative amendments adopted.
Starting Jan. 1 next year, 50% of the National Fund’s investment income will be distributed among all children under the age of 18. These funds can be used for educational purposes or purchasing housing.
