Purpose of research. The aim of the research is to study the knowledge of students about soft skills (SS), the types and where SSare acquired. Determine necessary SSfor employment, according to students.Methodology. The research methodology consisted in conducting a questionnaire survey among bachelor's students of universities of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In total, 215 students from 9 universities. Based on the literature review, the main areas of soft skills formation were identified – family, school and universities. SPSS software and Excel were used to analyze student responses. The analysis was also carried out in terms of gender.Originality / value of the research – the employment of students, directly depends on their professional and soft skills; therefore, it is important to know what soft skills students of Kazakhstan universities have.Research results – showed that Responsibility and Politeness are continuously developed in students, which are more intensively established in the family and further developed more actively in universities, than at schools. The main results of the study showed that students have a general understanding of the importance of SSin employment. Therefore, it was recommended to conduct a more detailed analysis of the skills acquired by students in passing certain disciplines.

This article analyzes the employment indicators of the population of Kazakhstan for 2015–2021 and assesses programs and other government measures taken to reduce the unemployment rate in the country. The system of state support aimed at ensuring employment of the population and solving the problems of unemployment that arose as a result of the socio-economic crisis associated with the global coronavirus pandemic COVID–19 is also characterized. The article also provides an overview of the level of development of unemployment in various countries of the world, which is a problem not only of one state, but a cause of concern for world communities, and the degree of research on these issues. In addition, the authors analyzed and assessed the dynamics of changes in the number of employed population in the sectors of the country’s economy and discussed the main priorities of the state policy aimed at optimizing the labor market and providing the population with productive employment