On 13 May 2015, on air on Rustavi 2, the Leader of the Free Georgia Party, Kakha Kukava, elaborated upon the economic situation in the country. He stated: "Concerning workplaces, we can say that the pre-election promises of the Georgian Dream coalition have been implemented by 0%. Even the National Statistics Office of Georgia confirms that workplaces were abolished both in 2013 and 2014 and unemployment grew. As of today, Georgia, along with Armenia, holds the first place in the region with the rate of unemployment."

took interest in the accuracy of the aforementioned statement and looked into it.

According to the unemployment and employment data published by the National Statistics Office of Georgia, the unemployment rate in Georgia reached 12.4% in 2014. As for the previous years, this number was 14.6% in 2013. Approximately 15% and 15.1% were unemployed in 2011 and 2012, respectively. These statistical data illustrate the percentage of economically active citizens who are employed as well as those identified as self-employed. It should be pointed out, however, that the share of those unemployed has been on the decrease since 2009.

Unemployment and Employment Levels

The number of those unemployed decreased by 2.2% in 2014 as compared to 2013 which was mainly due to the drop in the number of the workforce and the growth of the number of employed people by 33,000. According to the data of the National Statistics Office of Georgia, employment hit the highest point for the last decade in 2014 and amounted to 1,745,200. The level of unemployment dropped from 15% to 14.6% in 2013 as compared to 2012; however, the number of employed people decreased by 12,000. The drop in the level of unemployment was mainly due to the decrease in the number of the economically active population (labour force).

If we compare the unemployment figures of the Commonwealth of Independent States members to that of Georgia we shall see that the highest unemployment rate is traditionally in Armenia. Georgia, if we do not count 2009 (when the unemployment rate was 0.07% more than in Armenia), usually holds the second place among the Commonwealth of Independent States members. The trend continued in 2014 as well and Georgia holds the second place after Armenia with the rate of unemployment. It is followed by Ukraine with 10.5% and Kyrgyzstan with 5.55%.

 Level of Unemployment in the Commonwealth of Independent States Members (%)

 Level of Unemployment in the Post-Soviet Area (%)

It should be pointed out that the employment and unemployment statistics is a debated topic in the country. According to the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Gharibashvili, who relies upon the data of the National Statistics Office of Georgia: "The level of unemployment is the lowest in the last 11 years and a total of 33,100 workplaces were created last year." However, we have the differing opinions of the opposition and a number of experts who believe that these data fail to describe the real picture.

makes it clear that Georgia traditionally holds the second place (after Armenia) with the rate of unemployment in the post-Soviet countries. In addition, the rate of unemployment in Georgia has been decreasing since 2009 and the trend continued in 2014 as well. According to the National Statistics Office of Georgia, the number of employed people has also increased and hit a ten-year record – 1,745,200. However, the number of the labour force dropped in 2013 and 2014 which caused the percentage of unemployment to drop as well. The number of employed people decreased in 2013.