According to the National Statistics Office of Georgia, the unemployment rate in Georgia decreased by 2.5 percentage points in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the same period of the previous year and dropped to 19.4%. However, the unemployment rate still remains high and tops the pre-pandemic unemployment figures.
According to the methodology of the National Statistics Office of Georgia, the unemployment rate is measured by the unemployed people to the economically active population (workforce) ratio. The workforce is the total sum of employed and unemployed (who are looking for a job) people. Of additional note is that an individual who does not work and at the same time is not looking for a job (was not seeking employment in the four weeks prior to the survey) drops out of the workforce and is no longer considered unemployed. Therefore, in certain cases a technical reduction of the unemployment rate is possible at the expense of the shrinking workforce and without actually increased employment. Therefore, an analysis of the workforce and the employment parameters is vital for an accurate assessment of unemployment in a country.
In the first quarter of 2022, the economically active population (workforce) increased by 3% (43,500) as compared to the same period of the previous year which was stipulated by the growth in the number of employed people. In this period, the number of employed increased by 6.3% (71,400). Therefore, a drop in the unemployment level (percentage figure) happened at the expense of growing employment. In the first quarter of 2022, the employment level increased by 2.5 percentage points from 37.7% to 40.2% as compared to the same period of the previous year.
The workforce parameters improved in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the same period of the previous year. However, they are worse as compared to the same periods of previous years. Job losses have been a particularly serious problem in Georgia amid the pandemic in light of strict and lengthy economic restrictions. The relaxation of the economic restrictions was logically followed by an improvement/recovery in various economic indicators, including unemployment/employment figures. The unemployment rate peaked precisely in the first and second quarters of 2021. Therefore, in the first quarter of 2022 the unemployment rate decreased as compared to the peak period (first quarter of 2021) although, it is 1.1 percentage points higher as compare to the same period of 2020.
In regard to the employment indicator, the number of employed people increased in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the first quarter of 2021. However, it decreased as compared to the same quarters of 2019 and 2020. The number of the economically active population (workforce) increased only vis-à-vis the first quarter of 2021 whilst it decreased as compared to the same quarters of the previous years.
Graph 1: Workforce Indicators (Quarterly) in 2019-2022
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
Unemployment/employment figures have worsened sharply amid the pandemic (2020-2021). In the first quarter of 2022, the workforce parameters improved substantially as compared to the same period of the previous year, although the situation is worse as compared to the pre-pandemic period. In other words, employment in Georgia has started to improve, although jobs lost amid the pandemic have not yet been fully recovered.
