Unemployment Dips in Second Quarter of 2018
The National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) has released this unemployment statistics for the second quarter of 2018. Unemployment decreased 13.6% from the first quarter of the year, from 14% to 12.1% unemployment.
"It's very important that in the second quarter of 2018 the number of economically active people as well as the number of employees increased. Additionally, it is very important that the increase in the number of employees, which is 45.7 thousand, is caused by the growth of employed persons - here we have about 7% growth, which is 55.7 thousand new people in our economy,” said the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Ekaterine Mikabadze.
64% of the population over the age of 15, the potential workforce, is considered economically active.
Employment increases in urban Georgia are offset slightly by less people working in rural areas. Employment in Q2, 2018, was 2.5 percentage points higher in Georgia’s urban areas than Q1, while in rural areas employment rates decreased by 0.2 percentage points.
Mikabadze also pointed out that less people are reporting themselves as self-employed. "The decrease in the number of self-employed people is already trending - their number has decreased compared to the previous year and the previous quarter. At present, the number of self-employed people, in particular, decreased to 48% in the second quarter of 2018 in the overall employment rate,” said Mikabadze.
The deputy minister argued that decreasing unemployment numbers are reflective of the Georgian government’s economic policy, which is aimed at stimulating small and medium businesses and creating jobs.
Gogita Todradze, Executive Director of Geostat, attributes lower unemployment rates to seasonal factors and increased employment in the construction and agriculture sectors. “If we analyze annual data, we will see that the unemployment rate is higher among 15-24 year-olds, and as for the population aged 65 and above, unemployment is relatively low” explained Todradze.
By Samantha Guthrie
Photo: Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development