DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN LABOR MARKET REGULATION: DECENT WORK, INNOVATION AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS IN KAZAKHSTAN
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Digital platforms, artificial intelligence, and integrated public information systems are changing not only how public employment services are delivered but also the very object of state labour market regulation, while the employment outcomes of this shift in transition economies remain poorly quantified. This study examines the digital transformation of public administration within Kazakhstan's labour market regulatory system. It assesses whether changes have kept pace with the expansion of digital employment tools across the employment structure, unemployment, and labour productivity. The study employs annual official statistics from the Bureau of National Statistics and administrative data from the Enbek.kz Electronic Labour Exchange and regulatory documents for 2018–2025, applying dynamic, structural-functional, correlation and institutional analysis. The results show that the employed population grew by 7.5% to 9,345.8 thousand; wage employment grew faster (8.0%) than self-employment (6.0%); unemployment fell from 4.9% to 4.5%, and youth unemployment from 3.8% to 2.9%; while gross value added per employed person rose 2.4-fold. Labour productivity correlates strongly with wage employment (r = 0.992) and vocational qualifications (r = 0.979) and negatively with youth unemployment (r = −0.894). The registered digital labour market recorded 1.454 million resumes against 1.328 million vacancies in 2025, a tension coefficient of 1.095. The findings suggest that digital transformation has advanced faster than aggregate labour market indicators, and that Kazakhstan is moving from an administrative-reactive to a platform-based, data-driven model of employment regulation. That aggregate balance on the digital platform coexists with qualification and territorial mismatches that constrain decent work, reduce inequalities, and strengthen institutions.
JEL Classification Codes: J08, J21, J48, H11, O33, O38.
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