Category: NEWS
Is Serbia’s pension and salary contribution system sustainable?
Although Serbia’s population is ageing and the number of working-age citizens is declining, the pension system can continue functioning for a long time yet, Professor Mihail Arandarenko told Insajder. However, he warns that the main problem is not the sustainability of the system itself, but the fact that an increasing number of pensioners will have […]
Read moreKazakhstan Faces Shortage of Doctors and IT Specialists
Kazakhstan continues to face labor shortages in healthcare, information technology, engineering, and the creative industries, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection. The ministry published a list of the country’s most in-demand professions based on data from state information systems and the Enbek.kz employment portal. The most acute shortages remain in the medical […]
Read moreFitch raises Georgia’s 2026 economic growth forecast to 6.5%
Fitch Ratings says Georgia’s economy is expected to grow by 6.5% in 2026, remaining stronger than the average for countries with similar credit ratings despite external challenges. In its latest assessment, Fitch noted that Georgia’s economic growth remained strong in the first quarter of 2026 after average GDP growth slightly above 8% during 2023-2025. The […]
Read moreSmall businesses in Ukraine have no plans to expand this year.
The Small Business Sentiment Index in Ukraine in 2025 remained at 2.3 out of 5, indicating restrained, mostly cautious expectations among entrepreneurs. According to the survey, approximately 30% of respondents consider the state of business to be “rather unsatisfactory”, while around 20% assess it as satisfactory or good. At the same time, 17-18% of entrepreneurs […]
Read moreUzbekistan and Serbia eye deeper ties across key sectors
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met on Wednesday with Serbia’s Foreign Minister Marko Djuric, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing UzA. The high-ranking guest delivered warm greetings and best wishes from the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, to the President of Uzbekistan. The parties discussed prospects for strengthening broad cooperation between the two countries in line with […]
Read moreKazakhstan Plans New Measures to Attract Highly Skilled Foreign Workers
Kazakhstan is preparing to introduce new mechanisms to attract highly qualified foreign specialists as part of a broader effort to increase the country’s openness to talent, investors, and entrepreneurs. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection has drafted amendments to the country’s migration legislation following a presidential decree aimed at modernizing migration policy and addressing […]
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.
Source Link
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.
Source Link
Read moreUnemployment rate in Georgia remains at 13.9% in 2025, Geostat reports
Georgia’s unemployment rate remained unchanged in 2025 compared to the previous year and stood at 13.9%, Geostat reports. Official statistics show that both employment and the labor force — people actively seeking work — declined last year. Geostat data shows the labor force participation rate decreased by 0.3 percentage points year-on-year to 54.5%, while the […]
Read moreBusiness associations are calling on the Verkhovna Rada to abolish the EUR 150 duty-free threshold for imported parcels.
Business organizations in Ukraine are urging members of parliament to urgently adopt draft law No. 15112-1, which would abolish the value-added tax (VAT) exemption on international parcels valued up to EUR 150. “Abolishing this exemption is a requirement of European integration. The EU abandoned similar rules back in 2021, recognizing them as a source of […]
Read more