In early September 2025, the President of Turkmenistan approved the Concept for the Development of the Labor Market in Turkmenistan until 2030. This document serves as a strategic plan aimed at the long-term development of the labor market, taking into account socio-economic transformations, large-scale reforms, and measures to strengthen social protection of the population.
Main Goal and Key Objectives
The Concept aims to foster a sustainable labor market by addressing national priorities, economic reforms, and global trends. Its key goals include:
- Streamlining labor regulations;
- Enhancing living standards, social protections, and job opportunities;
- Modernizing labor laws;
- Boosting productivity across industries;
- Standardizing labor relations and wage systems;
- Expanding international partnerships, particularly with the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Key Provisions of the Concept
Improving Legislation
One of the primary tasks is to align national labor legislation with international standards, particularly those of the ILO. This includes updating legislative acts, taking into account the country’s economic development and national characteristics.
Access to Vacancy Information
The Concept provides for continued efforts to ensure transparency of information on job vacancies and employer needs. It plans to update the methodology for collecting and processing labor market data and modernize reporting forms for employment analysis.
Entering the International Labor Market
With rising global demand for skilled workers, the Concept supports Turkmen citizens seeking international employment. The Concept aims to protect their rights, and coordinate related activities. Measures will be taken to regulate key tasks, such as organizing the entry of Turkmenistan’s citizens into the international labor market and concluding agreements with foreign partners.
Adaptation to New Technologies
Given the global development of artificial intelligence, digital technologies, and science, the Concept emphasizes the need to acquire new skills and modern types of labor. Favorable conditions will be created to support training and professional development of workers. The focus will be on organizing advanced training courses and studying international best practices to help specialists meet modern requirements and enhance competitiveness in the labor market.
Improving Employment Agencies
The government plans to upgrade employment agencies with better technology, resources, and digital services to improve coordination across labor-related sectors.
Workplace Safety and Health
The Concept provides for stronger oversight of compliance with labor legislation and ensuring safe working conditions. Plans include modernizing the structure of state agencies, reviewing their mandates, and monitoring workplace conditions.
Increasing Minimum Wages and Bonuses
To boost purchasing power, the plan commits to increasing the minimum wage in line with ILO guidelines. It also modernizes incentive programs and bonuses to motivate workers, improve productivity, and elevate work quality.
International Cooperation
The Concept emphasizes strengthening international cooperation in labor and employment. Turkmenistan, a member of the ILO since 1993 and a party to 11 of its conventions, will continue integrating international norms into national legislation. Efforts are underway to explore joining additional ILO documents. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection actively collaborates with the UN agencies in Turkmenistan, implementing joint projects with the ILO.
Expected Outcomes
The implementation of the Concept aims to achieve the following results:
– Further development of the labor market and improvement of labor relations;
– Enhancement of the employment system;
– Updating the legislative framework to meet modern requirements;
– Modernizing reporting forms and creating new labor and employment management institutions;
– Improving the material and technical resources of employment agencies and expanding digital services.
Current Achievements
To successfully implement state policies in areas such as labor relations, labor organization and remuneration, employment, social security, and social protection of Turkmenistan’s citizens, as well as to foster international cooperation, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection was established in 2011.
To meet labor market needs, regional labor and employment agencies have been created. These agencies register job seekers, provide employment services, and collect vacancy information from employers. Additionally, a regulation is in place to set quotas for vulnerable groups unable to compete equally in the labor market, as well as rules prioritizing employment for this group.
Annually, Turkmenistan increases wages, pensions, state benefits, and benefits for students and trainees.
The Ministry’s website features a “Population Employment” portal, enabling employers to post vacancies and job seekers to share qualifications and find opportunities. Employers can also submit digital reports on vacancies and pension insurance.
Turkmenistan demonstrates steady progress in employment, as confirmed by data from the Department of Labor Resources and Employment of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection. Currently, the working-age population constitutes 98.5% of the country’s total labor resources, with an average annual labor resource growth rate of 1.0%. At present, 76.1% of the employed population works in the private sector, while 23.9% are employed in state enterprises. ///nCa, 17 September 2025 (based on materials from the newspaper “Neutral Turkmenistan”)