NUR-SULTAN / ex ASTANA (Satrapia) — During the coronavirus pandemic, unemployment in Kazakhstan rose by 46%, said Majilis deputy Aikyn Konurov.

At a Majilis meeting today, Konurov said:

During the lockdown, about 4.2 mln people were out of the employment zone, in fact, unemployment jumped by 46%. This is an unprecedented level in our history.

He noted that the volume of production in the field of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has almost halved:

During the period of containment, production volumes in the SME sector dropped sharply in the catering sector by 53%, in retail by 45% and in transportation by 37%. This entails risks of business closures, bankruptcies, disputes with banks, both for contractors and employees.