Kazakh National Prosperity Fund prepares to shed jobs

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ASTANA — The Samruk-Kazyna National Prosperity Fund in Kazakhstan is preparing to sack more workers in the third quarter of this year. The fund’s president, Kairat Kalimbetov, says that 10 percent to 15 percent more of its employees will lose their jobs. “Fifteen percent of our staff was sacked during the first phase, which enabled us to save more than US$1 billion,” he said.

He also explained that the company that administers the fund is taking the step to raise the fund’s efficiency so that it will be fully prepared for the second phase of the crisis, which economists predict will occur this autumn.

Unemployment has been rising in Kazakhstan since the beginning of the global economic crisis. Figures from the Kazakh Statistics Agency show that unemployment stood at 8 percent between April and June – an increase of 1.6 percent in less than a year.

The job cuts were made mainly in the banking sector but also affected jobs in real estate and small businesses. The media, too, have been hit by the crisis. The labour market situation is not hopeless, however, since there are sectors where qualified staff is always in demand.

Kazakh recruitment Web site Rabota.kz Executive Director Olesya Novikova says that there has been a significant shift in priorities on the job market. There is increasing demand for manufacturing experts. Despite the crisis and large job cuts, companies are continuing to open factories and establish businesses, usually in regions where a shortage of local workers means that employees have to be recruited from all over Kazakhstan and even from abroad.