Labor Market: Job Openings Increased, Salaries Rose
The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has published an analytical report studying the main changes in the labor market based on the results of the third quarter of 2025. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
The study covering July–September provides detailed information on labor demand and supply, population welfare, and the flow of remittances from abroad. This was reported by upl.uz.
According to the report, during the third quarter, the number of job vacancies in the domestic market increased by 3.3%, showing positive growth. The largest shares of vacancies were in wholesale and retail trade (17.9%), general catering (17.1%), and industrial production (17%).
However, job seekers’ activity showed signs of decline at the end of the quarter. Notably, new job seekers mostly increased in the fields of marketing, advertising, customer service, and domestic services.
According to the Central Bank’s observations, entrepreneurs expressed a positive attitude toward expanding their teams in July–August. The share of employers intending to increase their staff was 33.9%, but due to seasonal changes, this figure dropped to 30.8% in September.
At the same time, the share of enterprises planning staff reductions reached 12.7%. In particular, the likelihood of reductions was high in the construction and trade sectors, with 16.4% and 25.6% of managers in these sectors respectively planning cuts.
Financial indicators also show positive dynamics. In the first nine months of the year, nominal wages increased by 19.2%, and when adjusted for inflation, real incomes grew by 9.1%.
In September, the average salary amounted to 6.2 million soms. The highest average wages were in the finance and insurance sector (16.8 million soms), and in IT and communications, it was 15 million soms.
In the construction sector, real incomes actually decreased by 0.1%. Regional differences were also significant.
Samarkand region led in real wage growth with a rate of 14.6%. Sirdaryo (11.1%) and Namangan (10.9%) regions also achieved high results, while Andijan (2.9%) and Navoi (5.9%) regions showed lower figures.
Analysts warned that income growth in some regions could put pressure on prices. The volume of remittances from abroad also increased significantly.
In the third quarter of 2025, the volume of cross-border remittances amounted to 5.7 billion US dollars, an increase of 18.5% compared to the previous year. Especially, remittances from the Baltic states increased by 40%.
The growth rate from Russia and European countries slowed down relatively. Additionally, the IT sector has strengthened its position as one of the highest-paying sectors in 2025.
At the same time, the income gap between IT specialists and social sector employees has tripled, increasing young people's interest in digital professions.
