The Use of Labour by Sector and Location

Abstract

As illustrated, labour surpluses, especially among the indigenous Central Asians, may be a growing problem in Uzbekistan. Perhaps a greater problem, however, is the fact that the different nationalities working in social production differ sharply in the sector and location of their employment. Despite efforts to industrialise Uzbekistan and to bring the indigenous nationalities into the industrial labour force, the indigenous Central Asians still predominate in agriculture and the service sphere, while heavy industry and construction have been developed mainly by non-indigenous personnel. Despite efforts to urbanise the indigenous populations, Central Asians remain largely rural or in the older, smaller towns where industry is poorly developed; the inhabitants of new cities, where industrial development and capital investment have been highest, are largely European. While Uzbekistan’s economy has been dramatically transformed during the twentieth century, therefore, the traditional sectoral and locational divisions by nationality have been slower to change, and in many respects remain in force today.