Jobs and wages are being cut at state companies in Kazakhstan. Until now, economic troubles had been more or less confined to the private sector, but now the public sector must cut costs drastically.
In the Osh region of Kyrgyzstan, official unemployment has nearly doubled, from 10,000 a year ago to 17,500 now. In addition, there have been no official invitations for work in Russia. Coupled with the political unrest, this is truly a dangerous situation.