Subject. Labor market institutions and the development of the social protection system in Uzbekistan. Objectives. Identifying the features of structural employment transformation in Uzbekistan in the context of the digitalization of the economy. Methods. Comparative and structural analysis. Results. It has been found that job growth in the formal sector significantly exceeds the growth of overall employment when the informal sector is sluggish. Shifts between industries show a decline in agriculture and industry, while employment in 'other' activities is growing; registered self-employment is showing multiple growth. Conclusions. The takeaway is that we need to move from evaluating reforms based on the number of registered jobs to monitoring job quality and assessing the level of social protection. The study's results can be used when developing employment support programs in the regions of Uzbekistan.
Keywords: Uzbekistan, digital reforms, employment structure, formalization of employment, self-employment
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