How Zhambyl region is promoting the value of labor

In the second quarter of this year, Zhambyl region had 25,092 unemployed people, which is 4.8% of the region's entire workforce.

At the same time, about 19 thousand people were registered with employment agencies as of early August, a figure noticeably lower than the total number of unemployed according to the survey methodology.

The average nominal wage in the region in the first quarter was 328,952 tenge, and this figure serves as one of the main benchmarks for regional income-support programs.

Why the region is betting on the image of the "working person"

The idea of popularizing working professions is based on the nationwide comprehensive plan to promote the value of labor in society, adopted back in 2022.

The document did not appear by accident. Sociological surveys among young people show that when choosing a profession, salary remains the main factor not prestige or the social significance of the work.

In Zhambyl region, this idea is being put into practice through meetings with young people, media coverage of stories about working professions, and constant reminders that in-demand professions are often paid more than office jobs.

Migration and workplace safety as part of the same picture

Zhambyl region traditionally remains a region with active labor migration - part of the population leaves to work in other regions and abroad, while another part returns when suitable job openings appear locally.

The region's natural population growth in the first half of the year amounted to 6,218 people, noticeably less than a year earlier.

Educational work on labor safety is proceeding in parallel with the employment agenda, since an increase in the number of production jobs also requires greater attention to occupational safety, not just to entry-level wages.

Social security and instilling a work ethic in children

The theme of a strong work ethic in official rhetoric increasingly applies not only to adults but also to schoolchildren, who are encouraged to take part in career-guidance activities from an early age.

The logic is simple: if a child sees respect for working professions from an early age, it becomes easier for them to make a conscious career decision later, rather than being guided only by trends or a first-year-after-university salary.

In this logic, social security is not a separate topic but part of the overall idea that labor should be both profitable and protected not merely obligatory.

The region's economy is growing faster than many of its neighbors

Talk about the value of labor is backed by quite measurable figures. Following the results of the first half of the year, Zhambyl region's economy grew by 14.2%.

Industrial production rose by 18.5%, construction grew by 13.4%, and transport services by 11.8%. Agriculture and trade showed more modest but still positive growth of around 3%.

The region's industry produced output worth 718.7 billion tenge over the half-year, of which 478.5 billion came from manufacturing, placing the region among the top five in the country by this indicator.

Investment in fixed capital rose by 59.6% to 505.8 billion tenge, with almost 95% of this amount coming from private investment rather than the budget.

Not all districts are pulling the region equally 

Regional growth on average does not mean even development at the local level, and the region's head, Yerbol Karashukeyev, directly pointed out the gap between districts at an expanded akimat meeting.

Weak performance in manufacturing was noted in Merke, Sarysu, and Korday districts, while weak investment attraction was noted in Baizak and Talas districts.

Karashukeyev emphasized that work effectiveness is assessed based on the specific results of each district, not just on overall regional statistics, and demanded that local akims step up their efforts.

He separately stated that growth in investment must translate into jobs, and growth in agriculture into real income for rural residents, otherwise the figures in reports will mean nothing to an individual family.

New plants promise thousands of jobs

Alongside budget statistics, the region is simultaneously constructing several major industrial facilities, and the future of the labor market depends directly on them.

The chemical company "Kazphosphate" produced 246.1 thousand tons of output worth 64.2 billion tenge in the first four months of this year and continues to increase fertilizer exports to CIS countries and Europe.

In Sarysu district, the Qazaq Soda plant is under construction; after the first phase launches, it will produce 500 thousand tons of soda ash per year, with capacity eventually planned to reach one million tons.

About 1,500 people are currently employed in temporary positions at the plant's construction site, and after launch the enterprise will create 375 permanent jobs, with completion of the first phase scheduled for the end of this year.

Another major project is "EuroChem-Karatau," with investments of about 500 billion tenge; once it reaches full capacity it will create around 1,200 permanent jobs, while up to two thousand people are employed at the site during construction.

Infrastructure grows alongside industry

Following the expansion of production facilities, the region is also updating what supports people's daily lives near the new jobs.

In Taraz, a new residential district called "Balausa" is under construction, which, in addition to 145 residential buildings, will include schools, kindergartens, a multidisciplinary hospital, and an oncology clinic.

The region's energy infrastructure is also being prepared for the heating season; in particular, reconstruction of a 1.4-kilometer main heating line is underway at CHP-4 (thermal power plant).

Officials describe this combination of new plants, rising wages, and upgraded infrastructure as the practical embodiment of the "person of labor" concept, rather than just a slogan for posters.

Housing construction continues amid industrial growth

The region's construction sector completed 165.4 billion tenge worth of work over the first half of the year, one of the sectors where growth exceeded the regional average.

During this period, 326 thousand square meters of housing were put into operation, and 19.9 billion tenge has been allocated from the budget for housing construction this year.

The region currently has 66 multi-apartment buildings under simultaneous construction, totaling 2,941 apartments, of which 35 buildings with 1,685 apartments are planned for completion by the end of the year.

Separately, authorities intend to purchase 350 apartments for socially vulnerable population groups, a measure directly tied to the same income-support logic as the other programs.

The region's trade turnover for the half-year totaled 522.9 billion tenge, up 3.2%, which authorities also attribute to growing purchasing power among residents amid rising wages.

Urban cleanliness as part of the same agenda

At the same akimat meeting, officials also reviewed progress on the "Taza Qazaqstan" (Clean Kazakhstan) environmental campaign, which was initially presented in the region not as one-off cleanup days but as systematic work.

Monitoring revealed certain shortcomings in individual districts, and Yerbol Karashukeyev emphasized that the campaign should instill in residents a lasting habit of maintaining order, rather than a one-time effect ahead of inspections.

District akims were instructed to step up

explanatory work among the population and give broader coverage of the campaign's goals in local media and social networks, since without informational support such initiatives quickly lose public attention.

In the logic of regional authorities, the cleanliness of towns and settlements ranks alongside wages and jobs, since the quality of the urban environment directly affects whether skilled workers stay in their district or move to better-developed cities.