By Yekaterina Syrtsova, Associate Account Manager, The PBN Company, Almaty

A typical Central Asian “guest worker” in Almaty usually makes half as much as any local would get for doing the same job.  Regardless, opportunities to work in Almaty - even without an official work visa - are often too good to pass up due to the lack of prospects at home.  However, the crisis has now also taken its toll on the job market for guest workers - and there have been unpleasant consequences.

Almaty has always been particularly attractive for guest workers that come from other Central Asian republics, particularly Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.  According to www.nur.kz, a Kazakh news site, there are three million migrant workers in Kazakhstan as a whole, including seasonal workers.

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