Category: Author’s post

Rising wages and fewer low earners in Georgia’s job market

As data compiled by the research group PMCG showed, 985,975 people received a monthly salary in September 2025 (a 4.9 percent increase from August and a 2.6 percent rise compared to September last year, despite persistent unemployment).
According to economist Soso Archvadze, even a one-percent increase means tens of thousands of new jobs and an overall growth in salaries and improvement of the livelihoods of around 30,000 to 40,000 Georgians.
Also, the number of low-income earners has decreased.
As official statistics show, the share of people earning less than 600 lari per month declined to 12.5 percent in September, one percentage point lower than in August and three points lower than a year earlier. Simultaneously, the share of high-income earners, those making 2,400 lari or more, reached 33.6 percent, up half a point from August and 5.6 points from last September.
Nevertheless, economist Merab Janiashvili says that the information technology sector is the area that has grown sharply in recent years, particularly due to the increase of the number of foreigners working in Georgia (Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians).
According to him, 200 to 300 percent growth in the IT sector has certainly boosted the economy, but at the same time, many of these workers don’t pay taxes and contribute little in the way of social payments.
As Janiashvili also added, rising food prices and high levels of emigration are still the reasons of concern, despite Georgia’s overall strong growth rate. According to him, the impact of job growth depends on which sectors expand and which contract.
For instance, the increase in agriculture, where wages are lowest, makes a limited overall effect. In the opposite way, the increase in construction makes a clearly beneficial multiplier effect across the economy.
Nevertheless, inflation makes average wages appear higher than before. According to the economist, five years ago, 600 lari was considered a decent salary, but now its real value has fallen sharply. It is too early to speak about the improvement of the situation only because of the fact that fewer people earn under 600 lari. Many of them are nearly where they were before.
Economic growth above the regional average and an inflow of foreign professionals have made Georgia’s job market improve steadily since the pandemic years. According to analysts, the overall decline in low-income earners and the expansion of the middle-income group could signify a shift toward a more stable economy.

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Hiring rules are simplified by Türkiye to boost ties with Turkic nations

As Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Resmi Gazeti (Official Newspaper of Türkiye) reported, Türkiye has reduced bureaucracy for Turkic-speaking foreigners, including citizens of Kazakhstan. These simplified employment rules provided them with broadened opportunities for professional activity.
A decree signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Oct. 10 amended legislation that dates back to the 1980s and simplified procedures to work in Türkiye without undergoing lengthy processes for traditional work permits.
Nevertheless, the military and law enforcement sectors remain are still closed to foreigners. Another move expected to increase workforce mobility within the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) and strengthen regional integration is to remove the requirement for Turkish citizenship for residence and employment.
However, there are still several requirements that Turkic-speaking foreigners should meet.
The first one is a valid residence permit in Türkiye. The second one is absence of threat to national security. Thirdly, all foreign diplomas and professional certificates must be recognized as equivalent to Turkish qualifications. Registration with relevant professional associations and chambers on the same basis as Turkish citizens is also an advantage.
The aim of the reform is to attract highly qualified specialists and support small and medium-sized businesses, but it will not grant foreigners the right to vote or run for public office.
As Istanbul-based journalist Zhamilya Abenova, who has lived in Türkiye for five years, said in an interview with Tengrinews, the problem is absence of a clear definition of a Turkic-origin foreigner.
Only a close examination clarified that Turkic-speaking residents of CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] countries (Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Turkmen and Azerbaijanis) do not benefit from special work conditions.
There are ten eligibility criteria in the document, but last two as the most important: the prove of inability to find work in their home country for reasons beyond their control, or belonging to an ethnic or cultural minority in their country of citizenship.
According to Abenova, the main target audience are Turkic peoples without their own sovereign states (Meskhetian Turks, Uyghurs and Crimean Tatars).
Abenova has obtained a tapu, a residence permit through property ownership, which does not grant the right to work. So, she also needs a work permit. To get it, she registered the company that contracts with Turkish universities and helps Kazakh students enroll and advises on education, medical care and life in Türkiye.
According to Abenova, Türkiye’s job market is not collapsing.
Nevertheless, inflation makes Turkish professionals, particularly doctors and engineers, seek jobs in Europe and the United States. The international recognition of Türkiye’s diplomas helps them.
Abenova also mentioned a regular indexation of salaries to inflation in Türkiye. Teachers currently earn $1,300 per month, police officers – $1,600, nurses – $1,400, and doctors in public hospitals – $1,720.
Unskilled workers can also easily find a job with the minimum wage of around 340,000 tenge ($632) per month.

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Application of the 80-90-100 model in Serbia

A new law that comes into force on January, 1 2026 will allow Slovenian employees who are approaching retirement to spend less time at work if they wish.
Workers who are 58 years old or have at least 35 years of work experience will have two options of a reduced workweek. The first one is a “long weekend”, or having Fridays off, and the second one is working six hours per day.
They call this model 80-90-100 in Slovenia because of 80 percent working hours provided, 90 percent of the salary earned, and full contributions as if working 100 percent. Similar models have produced positive results in Iceland, Ireland, and Germany.
The Slovenian Ministry of Labour, headed by Luka Mesec of the Levica party, promoted the legislative changes. In case of success, the authorities in Slovenia will introduce additional pay for Saturday work, a mandatory Christmas bonus for all employees, and a 38-hour working week.
Despite the adoption of the new law by the Slovenian government, some ministers had doubts about the financial burden these measures might impose.
Though the effect of this low in Slovenia is still uncertain, NIN is thinking about the implementation of a similar approach in Serbia. The idea seems to be humane and fair, but employers worry about the cost of reduced working hours.
As Professor Mihail Arandarenko of the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade told NIN, other European countries already offer similar benefits to workers.
According to the honorary president of the Serbian Employers’ Union, Nebojša Atanacković, the Slovenian model is humane and socially responsible, and employees in Serbia should warmly welcome it.
As the President of the Confederation of Free Trade Unions, Ivica Cvetanović, said in an interview with NIN, the emergence of new technologies would both make possible and facilitate the implementation of such a model in Serbia.
Employees, specifically older workers, will get further benefits from changes to labour
regulations in Slovenia. For example, dismissed workers in Slovenia will receive up to 130 percent of the average gross minimum wage during the first three months after termination of employment from 1 January 2026. In case if they do not find employment after that period, they will receive compensation up to 110 percent.
Higher hourly rates and improved working conditions will be offered to those engaged in public works. They also plan to stimulate employment of individuals over the age of 59 and to increase the permitted number of hours for occasional and temporary work. Pensioners’ monthly work limit will rise from 60 to 85 hours, consequently, the maximum income they can earn through employment will increase.

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There are over 400 employment opportunities on the Regional Job Fair

Infostud’s largest online event in the region, The Regional Job Fair, has started. They designed it for everyone seeking employment or looking to change their career path.
The fair offers various job opportunities across multiple sectors. It runs from 14 to 21 October and brings together employers from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and North Macedonia.
Only in Serbia 38 companies have opened more than 450 job positions on this year’s fair. Over 700 vacancies from 100 employers are offered across the entire region. Real-time chat allows the participants to learn about working conditions, browse available positions, and connect directly with employers.
Notably, anyone can participate in this online fair from any location by visiting rs.regionalnisajamposlova.com.
Moreover, practical advice on how to overcome nervousness and approach job interviews with confidence will be provided on a webinar titled “Prepare for job hunting without fear and stress” during the fair.
More than 300,000 visitors made the Regional Job Fair the central meeting point for candidates and employers across the region last year.

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Post-Pandemic Growth, Skills Gap, and 17 Resumes per Vacancy in Kazakhstan’s IT Market

New research by Ranking.kz shows that Kazakhstan’s IT labor market is expanding rapidly but facing growing mismatches between available skills and employer demand.
Also, the Bureau of National Statistics reports that the number of specialists in “computer programming, consulting, and related services” has more than tripled in recent years. Notably, in 2020 IT employment increase by 76.7 percent (from 6,900 to 12,100 workers).
There are 19,500 officially registered programmers, developers, and AI specialists as of June 2025.
According to 2024 survey by Kolesa Group, the median IT specialist is a 26-year-old male with three to five years of experience, working in fintech as a mid-level data analyst, earning approximately 700,000 tenge ($1,300) per month, and having switched jobs twice.
IT headcount of international companies rose by 17 to 37 percent between 2021 and 2024. Meanwhile, the share of employees aged 26-30 increased by 15 percentage points.
Another problem is competition for jobs. There are just 580 vacancies on the national electronic labor exchange list and 9,700 resumes in the “IT and telecommunications” category (nearly 17 applicants per position). The highest disparity, with 655 resumes for just four openings, was in the Mangystau region. Then followed Almaty (1,500 candidates for 133 roles) and Astana (1,000 applicants for 124 positions).
The main criterion is work experience: one to five years of experience is required for 61 percent of vacancies, and more than five years for 8 percent. Junior specialists can apply for only 31 percent vacancies. Meanwhile, only 22.9 percent of job seekers are senior-level, and 48 percent are entry-level.
As Ekaterina Rehert, founder of DataBoom, said, everyone from small businesses to multinationals, use AI today. It raises the bar for employees, making basic tools no longer enough.
The data by Kolesa Group shows the rise of IT salaries by 40 percent between 2021 and 2024. An even steeper increase was reported by the Bureau of National Statistics: salaries in programming and consulting grew by 2.5 times, reaching 1.2 million tenge in Q2 2025. The growth of wage gap between IT professionals and the national average attained 1.7 times in 2020 and 2.8 times in 2025.
The highest salaries (1.6 million tenge or $2,900 per month) belonged to machine learning engineers, then followed data scientists (1.1 million) and data warehouse specialists (1.08 million). The salary of Big Data professionals in finance attained 986,300 tenge, while it is just 177,600 tenge for similar roles in the public sector.
As The World Economic Forum forecasts, by 2030, approximately 22 percent of jobs will undergo transformation, 170 million new roles will appear and 82 million will vanish. Automation and digitalization will reshape nearly 39 percent of job skills. The roles of Big Data specialists, fintech engineers (+92%), AI and ML experts (+83%), software developers (+57%), and data analysts (+41%) will undergo the fastest growth.

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A salary of 85,000 dinars is real for half of workers in Serbia

The Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia reported that the median net salary for July 2025 equals to 85,000 dinars. It means that 50 percent of employees earn up to that sum.

Notably, gross salaries grew up by 11.1 percent nominally, or 6.4 percent in real terms, in the period from January to July 2025, compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the average net salary increased by 11 percent nominally, or 6.3 percent in real terms.
Generally, the rise of the average gross salary for July 2025 was 11.4 percent nominally, and 6.2 percent in real terms, compared to the same month of the previous year. At the same time, the average net salary increased by 11.5 percent nominally, or 6.3 percent in real terms.
As for the lowest net salaries, they equaled to 57,686 dinars in July.
Employees in the public sector earned the average net salary that amounted to 112,662 dinars in July.

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Agreement between Kazakhstan and Qatar will regulate labor migration

As Kazinform News Agency reports, an intergovernmental Kazakhstan-Qatar Agreement on the regulation of employment of Kazakh workers in Qatar was ratified by the Kazakh Majilis.
According to Labor and Social Protection Minister Svetlana Zhakupova, the sides signed the agreement on February 14, 2024 during the Kazakh President’s visit to Qatar. It’s purpose is to ensure legal and social protection of the citizens of Kazakhstan in Qatar. They established the following clear procedures for this purpose: Selection (receiving applications from the Qatari side, informing the public through the Centers for Employment and Migration); Hiring of Kazakhstani citizens and determination of their rights when employed in Qatar (conclusion of an employment contract based on a standard agreement). The standard employment contract for hiring workers from Kazakhstan in Qatar is defined by an annex to the agreement. Any changes to its provisions from the employer’s side are impossible. According to the standard employment contract, the employer must provide the employee with: Accommodation or a housing allowance; Free transportation to and from the workplace, or a transportation allowance; Medical care in accordance with the laws of Qatar; Airfare coverage at the beginning and end of the employment contract, including for the employee’s annual leave. Ratification of the agreement by Qatar came into force on November 29, 2024.
A ratification of Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan agreement on mutual protection of investments by President Tokayev was mentioned earlier.

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Course certificates are recognized as equivalent to university diplomas in Kazakhstan

A new National Qualifications Framework (NQF) officially recognizing certificates from professional and advanced training courses as valid proof of education for employment purposes has been approved by Kazakhstan’s National Council for Professional Qualifications. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population said that the revised system now also includes non-formal and informal learning, […]

Leoni recognizes all obligations towards employees

According to Leoni Serbia, the company has duly informed the public about its earlier announcement that they would gradually halt production at its branch in Malošište by the end of the year.

As Leoni stated, the contracts of the first group of employees terminated at the beginning of September under the conditions set out in the redundancy program.

Also, the company explained in their press release that the information appeared in the media was inaccurate or misleading, and highlighted that Leoni has, from its very first day of operations in Serbia, regularly met all obligations towards employees, including the payment of salaries, salary-related compensation, as well as taxes and contributions.

According to the company, on 18 July employees got the advice at the Malošište branch to check their employment records at the nearest PIO office and notify the HR department without delay in case of any technical error.

Leoni stated that most of employees followed the advice and the relevant services at the Malošište branch helped them resolve any uncertainties directly.

Also, the company pointed out that, under the Labour Law, they can grant severance pay only “for each completed year of employment with the employer”, and months beyond a full year are not included in this provision.

As they explained, the company will provide employees whose contracts are being terminated with severance pay for each full year of service in the amount of 50 percent of the average monthly wage (‘gross 1’) earned over the last three months. This payment exceeds the minimum severance pay prescribed by law by 50 percent.

According to Leoni’s further promises, they delivered severance pay to nearly 420 people following contract terminations at the Malošište branch in September. Meanwhile, less than one percent of workers (only four employees) lodged objections to how the severance pay was calculated.

Nevertheless, a further 1,500 people at the Malošište branch will have become unemployed by the year’s end. According to Leoni announcement made in July, loss-making operations were the reason of the closure of this branch.

The costs are also rising at the company’s other sites in Serbia – Prokuplje, Niš and Kraljevo. However, all these three factories have a clear goal of improving business operations and are working on their projects.

Currently, around 8,500 people are working for Leoni Serbia, but after the closure of the Malošište branch, the number of employees will fall to nearly 7,000.

The company started its business in Serbia in 2009.

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Minimum wage in Serbia will attain 551 euro as of Jan 1

As finance minister Sinisa Mali said on Tuesday, Serbia’s government declared an increase of the minimum monthly net wage by 10.1% to 64,554 dinars ($647/ 551 euro) as of January 1, unable to reach an agreement on the hike with both employers and unions.
Before that, there was a 9.4% extraordinary increase in minimum monthly wage, as for October 1. As Mali said in a press release, the government will formalize the decision on the increase on Thursday, after a meeting of the Social and Economic Council, composed of representatives of the government, employers and trade unions.
According to local media, neither employers nor unions liked the government’s proposal for the increase of the minimum monthly wage to 551 euro as of January 1, made during the negotiations that started last month. Employers claimed to be overburdened with expenses and insisted on the minimum wage set at 500 euro, while unions highlighted rising electricity and food prices, as well as overall inflation acceleration and wanted the minimum wage to increase to 70,000 dinars. As the Beta news agency reported, both sides stuck to their positions during the Tuesday meeting.
Nevertheless, as Mali noted on Tuesday, the government will increase the non-taxable portion of minimum wages by 20.4% to 34,221 dinars to partly meet the demands of the employers. She also added that nearly 90,000 people work for minimum wage in Serbia.
There is a typical increase of monthly minimum wages in Serbia each January. However, the rising dissatisfaction over rising food prices as well as months-old anti-government protests that the collapse of the canopy at the train station in the northern city of Novi Sad on November 1 with 16 victims had triggered, made the government resort to the October hike. Also, President Aleksandar Vucic announced last month a set of measures aimed at boosting citizens’ purchasing power and standards of living, including capping retailers’ profit margins and offering lower interest rates on consumer loans, to address this discontent.
The most recent data available from the trade ministry reported that the minimum consumer basket in Serbia cost 55,870 dinars in May. The acceleration of the country’s annual consumer price inflation between June and July was 0.3%.
According to the statistical office, out of the Serbian population of around 6.59 million, about 2.37 million persons were employed in the second quarter of 2025.
Previously, there was a 13.7% increase of the minimum monthly net wage in Serbia in January.

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