Kazakhstan

Title of the survey

Labour Reports on the number of workers and remuneration according to type of economic activity.

Organization responsible

The National Statistical Agency.

Periodicity of the survey

Monthly, quarterly and annual.

Objectives of the survey

To obtain information on the level of employment, remuneration, hours of work, forecast layoffs, etc. This information is used by the Government for economic and social planning, research and analytical work, wage, income and price policy, and minimum wage fixing.

Main labour topics covered by the survey

Employment, earnings and hours of work.

Reference period

The month, the period between the beginning of the year and the relevant quarter (i.e. three months, six months and nine months) and the year.

Coverage of the survey

Geographical

The whole country (14 regions and the cities of Astana and Almaty).

Industrial

All branches of economic activity.

Establishments

All types and sizes of enterprises.

Persons

All persons in paid employment.

Occupations

Data are not collected by individual occupation.

Concepts and definitions

Employment

Persons in paid employment (i.e. employees) are persons who have concluded an employment contract or agreement with an employer (organisation or establishment of any type of ownership or individual employer), in exchange for remuneration in cash or in kind, irrespective of the duration of employment (continuous, temporary, seasonal, casual etc.)

Data are collected separately on:

The number of employees on the payroll (excluding workers who hold more than one job) on average over the reference period, i.e. persons admitted to permanent, seasonal and temporary employment. It includes both persons actually at work and persons who are temporarily not at work but have a formal job attachment.
The number of employees taken into account to calculate average wages, i.e. persons on the payroll, excluding persons holding more than one job and some categories of persons temporarily absent from work, such as women on leave to care for a child up to the age of three or workers on unpaid leave at the management's initiative.

Data on part-time workers and on the number of women employees are collected quarterly.

Beginning 1999 (with reference to 1998), employment data are collected by employee category: wage earners (manual workers) and salaried employees (non-manual workers), the latter being broken down into specialists (persons who have completed higher or secondary specialised education) and managers.

Earnings

Data are collected on the wage fund, i.e. the total remuneration paid to employees, including regular and irregular payments, bonuses, supplements, material assistance and social benefits, in cash and in kind, irrespective of the source of financing.

Average monthly nominal earnings are computed by dividing the total amount of remuneration paid to employees on the payroll, including persons holding more than one job, by the number of persons on the payroll (excluding persons holding more than one job). In each quarterly report, data are collected on the total remuneration paid since the beginning of the year; average monthly earnings are calculated as above, and by dividing the result so obtained by the number of months in the reporting period.

Wage / salary rates

Not relevant.

Hours of work

Data are collected on total hours actually worked per month (or reporting period) by all employees.

International recommendations

The notion of wage fund corresponds to the concept of total earnings in cash and in kind contained in the international guidelines. Hours actually worked conform to the relevant definition.

Classifications

Industrial

Since January 1998, the statistics are classified according to the industrial classification OKED (17 divisions), which is compatible with the International Standard Industrial Classification of all economic activities (ISIC), Rev.3. Prior to that date, they were classified by branch of economic activity according to the national OKONKh classification.

Occupational

Not relevant.

Others

The data are classified by legal status, type of ownership and size of enterprises, and by region.

Since 1999, employment data are classified according to workers' characteristics (age, sex, nationality, level of education and nationality) and by employee category (wage earners, salaried employees, out of which specialists and managers). Earnings data are classified by sex, employee category and region.

Sample size and design

Statistical unit

The reporting unit is the enterprise or organisation, defined as a legal entity. If an enterprise or organisation consists of various subsidiary establishments or branches, each branch constitutes a separate unit.

Survey universe / sample frame

This consists of the Register of enterprises, which is updated at the beginning of each year.

Sample design

The reporting system is based on a complete enumeration of all enterprises and organisations.

Field work

Data collection

Labour report forms are sent to all organisations and enterprises. The data are also received by e-mail through a specific programme.

Survey questionnaire

The report forms (available in Russian) consist of:

Form No. 1-TV Labour report and forecast layoffs (monthly). Part I covers the number of employees by category, total wage fund, average earnings and total hours actually worked, for the current month and the same month of the previous year; Part II covers labour turnover, number of jobs and number of jobs eliminated (collected quarterly); Part III covers the number of workers holding more than one job, working under contract and working part time (collected quarterly).
Form No. 1-T Labour report (yearly). Part I covers the number of employees by category and sex and wage fund, by employee category and sex; Part II, the number of employees on the payroll and their composition; Part III, the number of workers holding more than one job, working under contract and working part-time; Part IV, the composition of the wage fund; and Part V, the use of working time (workdays, days of absence, sick leave, other leave).

Instructions concerning statistics on the number and remuneration of persons in paid employment are provided along with the report forms. They explain the new terminology and indicators adopted since the reform of labour statistics in 1994.

Substitution of sampling units

None.

Data processing and editing

Data are checked, edited and processed by the regional statistical offices through specific software.

Non-respondents are contacted by telephone.

Types of estimates

Monthly average number of employees; monthly total and average earnings; and average number of hours actually worked per month and per employee.

Construction of indices

Index numbers of nominal and real earnings are constructed.

Weighting of sample results

Not relevant.

Adjustments

Non-response

None.

Other bias

None.

Use of benchmark data

None.

Seasonal variations

The survey results are not seasonally adjusted.

Indicators of reliability of the estimates

Coverage of the sampling frame

The coverage of the Register of enterprises is considered complete.

Sampling error / sampling variance

Not relevant.

Non-response rate

Not computed.

Non-sampling errors

Not known.

Conformity with other sources

Not relevant.

Available series

Number of employees, average monthly earnings and hours actually worked by economic activity and region, and according to various characteristics.

History of the survey

Wage statistics started to be collected in 1940, every five years until 1950; every year, from 1950 up to March 1992; and since then, every month.

In 1994, the National Statistical Agency reviewed the methodology for the collection of labour statistics, with a view to conforming to the most up-to-date international recommendations.

In the near future, it is planned to collect data on employment and earnings by main occupation in various economic activities, and to compile statistics of labour cost by economic activity. In 1999, it is also envisaged to switch gradually from a complete enumeration to a sample survey of enterprises.

Documentation

National Statistical Agency: Statistical Bulletin on the number and remuneration of workers by type of economic activity in the Republic of Kazakhstan (monthly).

Quarterly and yearly statistical bulletins are also published by the National Statistical Agency, and statistical collections and manuals are prepared periodically. A statistical collection entitled Labour and employment in the Republic of Kazakhstan (data for 1994-1997) will be published in the course of 1999.

Web-site: http://www.asdc.kz

Confidentiality / Reliability criteria

The data are covered by confidentiality laws.

Other information

Data supplied to the ILO for publication

The following data are published in the Yearbook of Labour Statistics:

Average paid employment,

Average monthly earnings of employees,

Average monthly hours actually worked by wage earners (up to 1993) and employees (up to 1992),

by economic activity and in manufacturing, by industry group.

Other sources of data

Under the Act of the Republic of Kazakhstan concerning State statistics, enterprises and organisations provide the following additional reports to the State:

Form No. 1-T (3P) Distribution of workers on the payroll who have worked the entire month, according to the level of remuneration (twice a year);
Form No. 1-T (OBR) Distribution of the workforce by age group, level of education and nationality (yearly);
Form No. 1-T (Working conditions) Report on working conditions, benefits and compensation for work in unhealthy and hazardous conditions (yearly).