In Kazakhstan, about two-thirds of the population's cash income comes from paid employment – that is, salaries. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
This was announced at a meeting of the expert council under the Ministry of National Economy, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin. More than 30 experts from various sectors of the economy and finance participated in the discussion.
According to the Institute of Economic Research, since 2000 the country has maintained growth in real GDP, wages and incomes. At the same time, income from paid employment remains a key source of well-being.
"In 2025, income from paid employment amounted to about two-thirds of all cash income of the population," the institute's materials say.
Chairman of the Board of the Institute of Economic Research Birzhan Batkeyev noted that further income growth is impossible without improving the quality of employment and labor productivity.
Experts also drew attention to significant differences between industries. The leaders in terms of wages remain the mining industry, the financial sector, information and communications, as well as manufacturing.
The Ministry of National Economy presented a draft Comprehensive Plan to increase real incomes of the population for the next four years. The document includes 58 measures: from raising wages and creating jobs to reducing inflation and the debt burden of the population. The project was presented by First Vice Minister of National Economy Azamat Amrin.
Experts noted that external factors continue to affect incomes. Economist Zhaksybek Kulekeyev pointed to geopolitical instability, trade restrictions and the slowdown of the economies of Kazakhstan's key partners.
"These factors affect export revenues, budget revenues and the overall economic dynamics of the country," he said.
At the same time, businesses are recording increased efficiency through technology. Director of AVZ LLP Marat Bakkulov reported that robotization has already significantly changed the company's performance.
"Labor productivity per employee has almost doubled over the past two years – from 27 million to 50 million tenge," he said.
Member of the Board of Directors of Teniz Capital Investment Banking Galim Khusainov emphasized that without technological renewal, income growth could lead to inflationary pressure.
"The share of the wage fund in Kazakhstan's GDP structure is about 32%, while in developed countries this figure reaches 50–60%. Raising wages without increasing productivity inevitably leads to inflation," he stated.
Summing up the meeting, Serik Zhumangarin noted that increasing incomes cannot be reduced only to raising wages.
"We are now at a stage where modern technologies are coming to the country along with new industries. This creates opportunities for training specialists of a new level. It is obvious that no budget will be enough if we solve this problem solely through raising wages. Sustainable economic growth, development of industries, increased labor productivity and expansion of employment opportunities are needed," he emphasized.
Earlier, analytics manager of the recruitment company LavoroSolutions Ilona Platonova told Kursiv that employers in Kazakhstan have begun to raise salaries by up to 100%.
The day before, Serik Zhumangarin stated that according to forecasts, real incomes of Kazakhstani citizens will grow this year.
Kursiv also wrote that wages in the country at the end of the first quarter increased by 9.1% year-on-year. However, taking into account inflation, they decreased by 2.3%, which was the worst indicator among the EAEU countries.