Essence and current condition of Kazakhstani labor market, its dominant problems, and the ways of their solution are considered in the article. The article explores the peculiarities of the concept, structure and types of employment among the population, the notion and essence of the labor market, and the methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of the state’s labor and employment policies. The state policy in the sphere of employment and market relations is considered. The public policy analysis of labor market and employment is carried out, the main indicators characterizing the labor market are estimated, the problems that accompany the subjects functioning in it are summarized, the influence of unemployment on the efficiency of Kazakhstan’s economy is shown. Despite the huge influence of informal employment on the social sphere, this problem has been little researched in our country. In the regions of Kazakhstan insufficient attention has been paid to the mechanisms of improvement of employment, including the labor market. In the conclusion of the paper it has been indicated by authors that metrics of employment and unemployment are used as the core macroeconomics aggregates for evaluation the economy pie in toto and for identifying its main tendencies.