Identifying vulnerable groups in the Kyrgyz labour market: some implications for the national poverty reduction strategy

This paper investigates the overlap between employment status and poverty, drawing particular attention to the working poor and precarious workers, and to the existence of multiple labor-related risks faced by specific groups. This analysis is undertaken using the Kyrgyz Poverty Monitoring Survey, which is the only survey to date that allows a comprehensive analysis of poverty and labor market outcomes in the Kyrgyz Republic. The period under investigation covers the years 1997-1998, for which data are available. A key finding of this analysis is the extreme vulnerability of low-educated people and women in Kyrgyzstan, who cumulated a high risk of being unemployed, of remaining longer in unemployment, of being discouraged, and if employed, of being low-paid or working in precarious jobs.