The employment rate is high by OECD standards (68% vs 55.6% in 2014), while the unemployment rate and inactivity are significantly lower in Kazakhstan (5.2% vs 7.9% and 29.3% vs 40% respectively in 2014) (Figure 1.4). In contrast to the experience of most OECD countries, the global financial crisis and the economic recession did not have a major impact on labour market outcomes in Kazakhstan, unemployment rates have in fact declined considerably since 2007 and employment and inactivity indicators also improved to some degree over the same period. In 2013, informal employment in Kazakhstan affected 24.3% of workers despite an earlier decline in its prevalence (OECD, 2016).