Antal Kazakhstan: Key Findings from the Annual Labour Market and Salary Survey

Recruitment company Antal Kazakhstan has released the results of its annual Labour Market and Salary Survey 2026–2027. The online survey involved 3,923 specialists and middle and senior managers working in Almaty, Astana and other cities across Kazakhstan. The survey was conducted between 21 May and 31 August 2026.

The full survey results are available exclusively to survey participants. To take part in the survey and access the report, please complete the questionnaire.

Kazakhstan’s labour market is becoming more balanced: employers are taking a more cautious approach to expanding their teams, while competition for qualified professionals remains strong. At the same time, candidates continue to demonstrate a high level of readiness to change employers.

One in four professionals is already looking for a new job

According to Antal Kazakhstan, 25% of respondents are already actively looking for a new job, while another 12% plan to start their search during the year. At the same time, 46% are not actively looking but are open to considering an attractive opportunity. Only 17% of respondents are not considering changing employers.

Finding the right role is becoming increasingly challenging. Among the main difficulties cited by candidates are compensation levels that do not meet their expectations — 53%, a limited number of relevant vacancies — 46%, and employers reviewing applications but not inviting candidates to interviews — 45%.

Employers are shifting from active expansion to more targeted hiring

Companies are also becoming more cautious in their workforce planning. According to an additional employer pulse survey, 68% of companies plan primarily to replace employees who leave in 2027, while only 26% expect to expand their headcount.

At the same time, employers are gradually becoming more flexible in their candidate requirements. Over the past year, 26% of companies have started hiring young professionals more frequently, 24% have lowered requirements for certain professional skills, and 22% have become more open to considering candidates without directly relevant experience.

The strongest demand in 2027 is expected to be for sales professionals, whom 48% of companies plan to hire. This is followed by marketing at 27%, manufacturing at 18%, IT at 17%, and engineering and logistics functions at 15% each.

Salaries continue to rise, although growth is becoming more moderate

In 2026, 56% of survey participants reported an increase in their base salary, while 39% saw no change and 5% reported a decrease. By comparison, 60% of respondents reported a salary increase a year earlier.

Most employers are also planning to review compensation levels in 2027. The most common scenario is a 10–12% salary increase, indicated by 48% of companies planning salary indexation. A further 26% expect salary increases of between 7% and 9%.

At the same time, salary remains important but is far from the only factor influencing the choice of employer. Higher pay was the reason for choosing their current employer for 42% of respondents. Other important factors include company stability, the opportunity to move into a new field, new responsibilities, a strong team and work-life balance.

Employer reputation and the quality of communication are becoming part of the candidate proposition

The survey shows that candidate experience has a direct impact on employer attractiveness. 61% of respondents consider the speed of feedback to be one of the most important aspects of communication, 54% expect constructive feedback after recruitment stages, and 52% value transparency throughout the hiring process.

At the same time, 48% of candidates check company reviews before applying for a vacancy, while 45% do so before an interview. The strongest influences on perceptions of an employer are recommendations from friends and colleagues — 77% — and personal experience of interacting with the company — 74%.

Flexibility remains an important part of the compensation package

82% of respondents consider the opportunity to work remotely or in a hybrid format a significant advantage when choosing an employer.

Among employee benefits, the option to work remotely is important to 55% of survey participants, private medical insurance to 53%, and private medical insurance for family members to 44%.

AI use has doubled over the past two years

Another notable labour market trend is the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence tools. According to Antal Kazakhstan, 77% of respondents use AI tools in their work — approximately twice as many as two years ago.

The use of these technologies is particularly high among IT, marketing and HR professionals. For most employees, however, artificial intelligence still serves primarily as a supporting tool and is used for only part of their day-to-day tasks.

“Kazakhstan’s labour market is becoming increasingly diverse. Companies are paying closer attention to efficiency and headcount, but competition for strong professionals has not disappeared. At the same time, candidates are taking a more holistic view of employers: it is no longer just about pay, but also about the content of the role, the speed and quality of communication, the company’s reputation, flexibility and development opportunities. This means that there are fewer universal solutions when it comes to attracting and retaining employees,” says Michael Germershausen, Managing Director of Antal International in the Eurasia region.

About the survey

The annual Antal Kazakhstan Labour Market and Salary Survey 2026–2027 is based on an online survey of 3,923 specialists and middle and senior managers in Kazakhstan. In addition to analysing candidate behaviour and expectations, the survey includes salary data across industries and professional functions.

The report also incorporates the results of an employer pulse survey conducted between 31 August and 18 September 2026 among 105 companies operating in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.