Category: Author’s post
Morocco is among 70 nations to fill Ukraine’s two-million worker gap
According to Minister of Social Policy Denis Ulyutin, Ukraine’s population dropped from estimated 22 to 25 million. This downfall has made the country look for potential labor recruitment. Morocco is one of among 70 countries for this aim.
As a result, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Security Service of Ukraine received an order from the head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, Kirill Budanov, to urgently review a list of 70 countries to ease restrictions and simplify the process of attracting foreign workers.
That list includes such countries as Morocco, Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Bangladesh, and dozens of other nations. There are already some workers from these countries in Ukraine, primarily in logistics and construction.
As Arsen Makarchuk, head of Ukraine’s State Statistics Service, estimates, the current labor deficit is approximately two million workers. The country’s employment market and social safety net undergo significant pressure due to this. According to Ulyutin, there are currently 13 million unique recipients of social payments and 10.2 million pensioners in Ukraine.
Before 2022, employers issued around 20,000 work permits for foreigners annually. Then, that number has shown a dramatic decrease. They issued only 4,720 permits in 2024. In 2025, the figure rose to 7,483 but remained less than half the pre-war level. As the agency stressed, priority in employment still belongs to Ukrainians.
According to Olga Dukhnich, head of the Demography and Migration division at the Frontier Institute, online fears about mass labor migration from Bangladesh are not real. As she explained, the Ukrainian market is not too appealing for Bangladeshi workers. The reason is the priority of seeking employment in the United Kingdom and Gulf states.
Also, Dukhnich acknowledged the lack of experience with large-scale foreign migration and outdated stereotypes of Ukraine’s employers. She is sure that migration from Bangladesh does not threaten Ukraine in the coming decade. Attracting labor migrants at all is a hard task for the country.
According to the estimation of Ulyutin, around two million people could return to Ukraine after the war ends or a sustained ceasefire takes hold. Nevertheless, the ratio of working citizens to dependents remains critical, even under an optimistic estimate of 29 million.
Moreover, the demographic trajectory will only worsen, as financial analyst Alexei Kushch warned. He compares Ukraine’s annual natural population loss to the disappearance of a major city. Other negative tendencies are shrinking life expectancy and the emigration of young men, whose families send them abroad to avoid future mobilization.
UN data from the fall of 2024 report that Ukraine’s population shrank by eight million since February 2022. According to Libanova, the country will never return to its Soviet-era level of approximately 52 million.
Source https://nh-consulting-services.com/2026/05/23/ukraines-two-million-worker-gap/
Read moreAs Geostat reports, unemployment rate in Georgia remains at 13.9% in 2025
According to Geostat’s report, Georgia’s unemployment rate remained unchanged in 2025 (13.9%) compared to the previous year.
As official statistics show, both employment and the labor force — people actively seeking work — declined last year.
A decrease of the labor force participation rate by 0.3 percentage points year-on-year to 54.5% was shown by Geostat data. Meanwhile the employment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 46.9%.
The regions of Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, Kvemo Kartli, and Guria showed the sharpest decline in unemployment (a downfall by 3.1, 2.9, and 2 percentage points respectively).
The highest unemployment rate in the country (17.5%) was in Tbilisi.
Also, the unemployment rate among men is higher than among women.
Among age groups, unemployment was highest among people aged 15-19 (39%), while the lowest rate was recorded among people aged 65 and older (3.5%). Geostat links this data to low economic activity in that age group.
Nearly 1.4 million people were employed in Georgia in 2025, including 961,000 hired employees and 426,000 self-employed individuals. Meanwhile, 224,000 people were unemployed.
The total labor force in Georgia counted approximately 1.6 million people last year.
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Read moreKazakhstan wants to attract highly skilled foreign workers
Kazakhstan is taking effort to increase the country’s openness to talent, investors, and entrepreneurs. For this, the country introduces new mechanisms to attract highly qualified foreign specialists.
For example, amendments to the country’s migration legislation The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection have been drafted, following a presidential decree aimed at modernizing migration policy and addressing labor shortages.
One of the measures is a targeted recruitment system for in-demand foreign specialists based on the current needs of the domestic labor market.
Also, the creation of a government-approved list of priority professions is a key element of the reform. It will include specialists in information technology, healthcare, education, the nuclear industry, energy, biotechnology, genomic medicine, water management, irrigation, and culture. It total, it will include in-demand professions from 51 to 174 specialisms.
They will also establish clearer and more transparent procedures for hiring foreign professionals at the request of employers.
Improvement of conditions for foreign specialists working and living in Kazakhstan is an important issue. Authorities are planning to expand the Altyn (Golden) Visa program.
The proposed changes will let foreign specialists apply for resident status after a specified period of employment in Kazakhstan. They will also get access to tax incentives, financial services, healthcare and education opportunities. New program gives foreign specialists the right to work outside the country’s foreign labor quota system.
According to the previous report of The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan had approved its 2026 quota for foreign labor at 0.25% of the country’s total workforce.
Permits for 726 senior executives and deputies, 3,402 heads of structural divisions, 5,893 specialists, and 3,131 skilled workers are included in it. Seasonal labor got additional 4,994 permits.
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Read moreSevere labor shortage affects Kazakhstan’s SMEs
A joint report by Mastercard and KPMG claims that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Kazakhstan have become one of the country’s main sources of employment. Nevertheless, they are facing a severe labor shortage.
According to the report, workforce shortage is one of the most pressing challenges for SMEs. It means that nearly half of businesses report staffing deficits acute. Experts cite the limited supply of qualified specialists and their high cost among the main reasons of the problem.
As the report explains, SME executives complain about the difficulty of finding qualified employees, especially production managers. It often happens that interviewed candidates do not meet requirements. Another problem is that staff lack the motivation for development, even though salaries are high and working conditions are good. It needs an increased number of skilled employees to scale up the business. Meanwhile, limited financial resources and labor shortages constrain it.
Nevertheless, 90% of surveyed business leaders complain about high salary expectations from potential employees, which smaller firms struggle to meet. Also, nearly 70% of respondents consider SMEs as less prestigious places to work.
Concerning labor productivity, in micro and small businesses it remains more than twice as low as in medium and large enterprises. Data show that a worker generated an average of about $10,100 in a small business in 2025, compared with $34,300 in medium-sized firms. This year the gap continues to widen.
Generally, major constraints for SMEs are limited access to financing and the high cost of borrowing.
An unstable tax and regulatory environment, as well as broader macroeconomic volatility are additional factors hindering SME development.
Nevertheless, SMEs are a key source of employment in Kazakhstan, in spite of these challenges. As an example, employment in the sector has demonstrated a growth of the workforce from 40% to 50% over the past five years. At present, SMEs employ nearly 4.7 million people out of 9.3 million employed nationwide. That means that roughly one in two workers is employed in this segment.
As the report shows, an average annual rate of SME employment growth is 6%. Meanwhile, the decline of employment in other sectors is about 3% per year.
The report notes that the concentration of employment in SMEs makes the labor market vulnerable to tax and regulatory changes. Also, negative shocks in the sector could directly cause rising unemployment.
According to the data previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, about 40% of Kazakhstan’s GDP currently account for SMEs. This figure is still below benchmark countries such as Turkey (41%), the United States (44%), and Uzbekistan (52%).
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Read moreNew regulations establish fines of up to 100,000 dinars for traders’ violations
Amendments to the Law on Trade adopted by the National Assembly of Serbia will come into force on 1 May 2026.
Notably, purchasing points receive a separate regulatory framework and are defined as a specialized form of wholesale trade intended for the purchase of agricultural products and livestock directly from producers.
For that, they need an entity that the competent ministry maintains in a special register – a centralized electronic database through the “e-purchasing point” system. It will record all key data (the identity of the buyer, the type of goods and the purchasing period).
In difference from the past, traders at purchasing points now must publicly display in advance the purchasing conditions, including prices depending on quality, payment deadlines, methods of assessing goods, and procedures in case of disputes. They also must display the contact details of inspection services is mandatory.
Communication with consumers will also change. Firstly, the prior consent of the consumer is now necessary for traders to send offers. Secondly, only registered traders may sell goods in sales at events. Also, they reduce the deadline for certain applications from 60 to 30 days.
Amendments specify that farmers may sell exclusively their own produce to eliminate the possibility of resale under their name.
Also, the Government will transfer some of its competences to the line minister.
It will be mandatory to consolidate records when delivering goods from a retail outlet. Other new rules claim from the issuer of trust marks in e-commerce submission of detailed information to the ministry on the criteria and methods for awarding such marks.
The requirement to make all product information available to consumers prior to purchase, in a manner that is permanently visible and easily accessible, is one of the more significant aspects of the amendments related to product declaration and labelling. Simultaneously, they want to introduce a unified product coding system to standardize product labelling on the market.
According to the law, unit prices must be displayed where possible. Traders may sell products for the first time at lower prices, but for a maximum period of 60 days. The new rules introduce the concept of a “previous price”, or the lowest price at which they offered product during a specified period prior to the discount.
The law also tightens requirements for market and municipal inspectors. Now, they must now have higher education qualifications, pass professional exams, and meet additional criteria prescribed by law and internal regulations.
The new rules prescribe a uniform fine of 100,000 dinars for a wide range of offences that legal entities commit. Almost all key aspects of business operations (marking purchasing points and maintaining transaction records to transparency in pricing and product declarations) are in the list of offences.
A trader will also fall under fines if he fails to provide requested data to the competent authorities, does not display business hours or fails to comply with them, or sells goods without properly labelled information.
Concerning promotions and advertising, a trader will fall under the same financial penalty if he offers goods with special sales incentives contrary to the rules or advertises discounts in a manner not compliant with the law.
Nevertheless, the maximum fine is reduced in certain cases from the previous 500,000 to 150,000 dinars.
As for the amount of fines, a model appears that takes into account a range of factors (the severity and duration of the offence, benefit gained by the trader, efforts made to mitigate consequences for consumers). They also consider previous offences and penalties imposed in other countries in cases of cross-border operations.
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Read moreGeorgian small businesses will get expanded support
As Mayor Kakha Kaladze said during a municipal government meeting, Tbilisi City Hall is expanding its ‘Micro and Small Business Support’ initiative. This pilot project will become a full-fledged program with significantly increased financial backing for local entrepreneurs.
The increase in the maximum co-financing limit, which rises from 20,000 GEL to 50,000 GEL, will be the central change under the updated program. Notably, approximately 50 businesses received support to acquire equipment and grow their operations due to the expansion at the pilot phase.
A tiered co-financing model based on project size is introduced by the program. Projects under 5,000 GEL will get up to 90% funding. Projects between 5,000 and 20,000 GEL – 85%, projects between 20,000 and 30,000 GEL – 80%, and projects between 30,000 and 50,000 GEL – 70%.
City Hall officials will give priority to applicants with operational businesses and clearly defined development plans.
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Read moreKazakhstan’s trade turnover with the UK grew up to $1.6 billion
The United Kingdom and Kazakhstan have signed a new agreement expanding cooperation in energy, trade, and technology, as both sides look to surpass last year’s $1.6 billion trade turnover in 2025. Also, Kazakhstan is set to host branches of British universities.
As Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Issetov said during the April 16 session, Kazakhstan’s Senate (Parliament’s upper chamber) outlined the plans and ratified a strategic partnership and cooperation agreement.
Another issue Kazakhstan is working on is simplifying visa procedures with the UK. Students, academics, business representatives, and official delegations will be the target audience. According to Issetov, there is an imbalance, especially when the UK has tightened migration requirements.
As Isetov said, the presence of British oil majors Shell and BP in Kazakhstan is expanding. He denied previous reports of Shell’s potential withdrawal from the Kazakh market.
The Minister said that the Ministry of Energy and Shell signed a new exploration contract in the Aktobe Region in March, which will run until 2032.
He also mentioned BP’s activity: KazMunayGas and BP recently signed an agreement on geological exploration in the Mangystau Region.
As Isetov highlighted, the bilateral trade between Kazakhstan and the UK attained $1.6 billion last year. It is a great progress compared with $886 million in 2024 and $1.2 billion in 2023.
Raw materials, including oil and rare earth metals are main Kazakhstan’s export items. Meanwhile vehicles, machinery, pharmaceuticals, and construction equipment come from the UK.
Education is another important field of cooperation. The sides signed the agreement that lets UK universities open branches in Kazakhstan. This will help strengthen academic exchange, train specialists, and improve access to international education.
Recent agreements signed in London, such as a memorandum on university cooperation, are the basis of the initiative. They expect it to enhance the country’s human capital development.
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Read moreKazakhstan revealed its top employment regions
In general, dynamics in Kazakhstan’s labor market is positive in 2025. As Qazinform News Agency reports, the number of employed people increased by 106,000 compared to 2024 and attained 9.32 million.
The quantity of both men (4.81 million, up from 4.76 million) and women (4.51 million, up from 4.45 million) grew. 5.91 million employed residents (a year-on-year increase of 161,000) were in urban areas. Meanwhile, there was a slight decline (from 3.47 million to 3.41 million) in rural areas.
Totally, there were 7.17 million salaried employees in the labor market (up from 7.02 million in 2024). Nevertheless, the number of self-employed individuals decreased to 2.15 million from 2.20 million a year earlier.
However, there was a decline of the total number of informally employed residents in 2025 (to 942,000, down from 1.11 million in 2024). Agriculture (389,000) and trade (170,000) had the primary shares of informal workers.
Wholesale and retail trade and automobile repair are the largest employment sectors with 1.56 million workers (up from 1.53 million a year earlier). 1.23 million people worked in education. Then followed industry with 1.16 million. The number of people employed in agriculture decreased to 986,000.
4.37 million employees had higher or postgraduate education. Also, 4.44 million employees underwent technical and vocational training. Concerning age groups, 2.64 million workers referred to the 35–44 category. Meanwhile, 1.08 million were youth aged 16–24.
In terms of total employed residents, Almaty (1.12 million), the Turkistan region (831,000), and Astana (765,000) were the leaders. The Ulytau region demonstrated the lowest employment level (95,500).
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Read more2,608 GEL is the average monthly salary in the business sector 839.2 thousand people worked in business sector in the IV quarter of 2025 (year-on-year 3.4% increase). 43.3 % of them were female and 56.7 % were male.
The total number of employees increased by 2.4% year-on-year and reached 782.8 thousand. Enterprises spent 6 260.3 million GEL on personnel (year-on-year 13.1 percent more). Average monthly remuneration of employees was 2 608.4 GEL (241.3 GEL increase year-on-year) in the IV quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, remuneration specifically for women employees was 1 998.0 GEL (150.7 GEL increase year-on-year). Large business showed average monthly remuneration equal to 2 743.7 GEL, medium size business — 3 084.9 GEL, and small business — 2 152.2 GEL.
The highest share (35.9%) in the total turnover in business sector belonged to the arts, entertainment and recreation in the IV quarter of 2025. Then followed trade sector (including repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles) (32.9 % share), manufacturing (7.3 %), construction (6.4%), transportation and storage (4.5 %), information and communication (3.3%), and other sectors (9.7% share).
The top five business sectors by production value in the IV quarter of 2025 were manufacturing (18.6%), trade (18.5%), construction (18.5%), transportation and storage (9.3%) and information and communication (8.4 %). The combined share of the rest of the sectors is 26.6 %.
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Read moreA foreign national can carry out professional activities without residence and work permits in certain cases
Nevertheless, this will be possible only for a specific project without long-term establishment in the local labor market.
Members of the ruling party are adding a special article to the Law on “Labor Migration” in this regard.
As the draft law says, a foreigner will be allowed to engage in short-term professional activity in Georgia without a work permit or a corresponding residence permit. For this, he must carry out an activity within the framework of a temporary visit, without long-term employment in the local labor market. It must be connected to a specific short-term project, event, or service.
A government decree will determine the list of such short-term professional activities, their duration, and the criteria for classifying them as short-term.
They will not consider as a labor immigrant a foreigner carrying out short-term professional activities or a self-employed foreigner in Georgia.
The list of activities exempt from the requirements of having a residence or a work permit will include individuals holding a valid special residence permit issued based on a written initiative of a member of the Government of Georgia. Also, employees of public institutions or enterprises with state participation will be included in the list. Moreover, remote workers from another country for a local employer will also be exempt from these requirements, as well as workers providing services to a non-resident entity related to activities carried out outside Georgia. The Law on “Accounting, Reporting and Auditing” will define managerial roles or participation in audit committees in first, second, and third category enterprises.
So, new reality needs to reduce bureaucratic pressure and to create a mechanism that allows for the legal recognition of short-term professional visits without requiring a residence permit. The current legal framework on labor migration cannot do this.
Due to this reason, the Government of Georgia decided to define detailed criteria. New legal acts will ensure greater flexibility and efficiency. They will allow timely adjustments to types of activities and durations in line with the country’s needs and optimize labor migration management.
According to the initiating members of Parliament, this will provide a differentiated approach based on the duration and nature of employment and remove unnecessary administrative barriers.
Undoubtedly, administrative barriers do not correspond with the dynamic nature of the labor market. So, they decided to exempt certain specific activities from the requirements of the law on “Labor Migration.”
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