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The workforce shortage is growing: Kazakhstan proposes attracting more migrant workers

Mazhilis Parliament Member Yerlan Barlybayev initiated a proposal to ease the rules for attracting foreign labor to Kazakhstan and to increase quotas for migrant workers. According to him, the country is entering a period of implementing large-scale infrastructure projects—ranging from the construction of thermal power plants and three nuclear power plants to the development of the transport network, housing and communal services, and other sectors—which will require a massive number of working hands.
Barlybayev recalled that according to forecasts by the Workforce Development Center, between 2025 and 2035, the total number of required employees could reach around 3 million people, of which more than 800,000 are in blue-collar occupations. The workforce shortage is expected to be particularly acute in industry and construction.
The MP also noted that in recent years, the number of legal entities in the country has been steadily growing, but this does not always mean the creation of a sufficient number of high-quality jobs. He emphasized that Kazakhstan is already an attractive labor market today due to relatively high wage levels compared to other Central Asian countries, especially against the backdrop of tightening migration policies in Europe and Russia.
Barlybayev also pointed to the issue of illegal employment among foreign workers, which, in his view, creates additional corruption risks. In connection with this, he proposed the following measures:

  • Easing the conditions for attracting foreign workers, guaranteeing them labor rights and access to social services, while placing the responsibility for compliance on employers.
  • Increasing quotas for migrants and simplifying the procedures for obtaining them in sectors experiencing a workforce shortage.
  • Introducing an additional tax on migrant workers to flexibly regulate their numbers by adjusting the tax rate.
The MP is confident that with proper regulation, migration flows can become not only a solution to the worker shortage problem but also a stimulus for economic growth and the strengthening of social stability.
Earlier data from the Ministry of Labor showed that more than 15,000 foreign citizens officially work in Kazakhstan, with the majority employed in construction and agriculture. The largest groups of migrant workers arrive from China, Uzbekistan, Turkey, and India. At the same time, the state establishes annual quotas for attracting foreign labor—in 2025, it was within the range of 0.2–0.25% of the workforce, or approximately 14.8 to 19.4 thousand permits.
Source: TengriNews
2026-06-17 19:09