Problems of Generating Productive Employment in the Youth Labor Market as a Dominant Risk Reduction Factor for the NEET Youth Segment in Kazakhstan

NEET (not in employment, education, or training) unemployment is one of the newer, most relevant, and least studied modern features of the youth labor market, making it an urgent problem to be solved. The purpose of this study is to identify the barriers to creating productive employment in the youth labor market, with a view to reducing the NEET youth segment in Kazakhstan. Our aim is to identify the impact of employment and unemployment parameters in the youth labor market in order to reduce the NEET youth segment in Kazakhstan. The article analyzes the indicators of youth participation in the labor force, defines the features of the youth labor market based on segmentation by age, and identifies the dynamics of youth employment, including the type of economic activity. Particular attention is paid to the NEET youth category in Kazakhstan, providing a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics of the youth labor market for the period 2001–2021. The portrait of Kazakhstani youth in the category of NEET unemployment was determined based on an analysis of labor market indicators. Our study identifies the barriers to generating productive youth employment, allowing policymakers to reduce the NEET youth segment in Kazakhstan.