Unemployment
The official unemployment figure for Kyrgyzstan is 18%. Survey-based unemployment rates however tend to be much higher, which may be a reflection of under-registration of employment seekers. Unemployment is particularly high among the youth, officially recorded at 26%. Informal employment is estimated at 67%, mostly in the agricultural sector.
Some Oblasts have registered a sharp growth in official unemployment between April 2008 and April 2009, citing returning migrants as the main reason for the increase. It is estimated that at the migration peak, the last quarter of 2008, around 1 million Kyrgyz had migrated to find employment outside of Kyrgyzstan. This represents almost 50% of the entire work force.
To keep employment at the same level GDP must grow at around 5%. The average GDP growth over the past 10 years has been 3,7 percent, with a sharp drop in growth in 2009 as a result of decreased employment opportunities for migrant workers and a subsequent drop in remittances.
Source: CIA World Factbook -
