Unemployment rate reaches 15 year low in Georgia

The annual unemployment rate in Georgia decreased by 1.2 percentage points and equalled 12.7% in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2018.

It should be noted that the downtrend in the unemployment rate has been maintained during the last nine years, furthermore in 2018 unemployment rate reached the lowest level within the past 15 years”, said the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).

In Q4 of 2018, the economically active population constituted 63.6% of the working population (population of 15 years and older).

The employment level has been reduced by 0.2 percentage points in Georgia’s urban areas compared to the previous quarter, while in rural areas it has decreased by 1.3 percentage points.

Compared to the previous quarter the economic activity rate in rural settlements decreased by 1.6 percentage points, while in urban settlements remained unchanged”, said Geostat.

Geostat said that the unemployment rate is much lower in rural settlements than in urban settlements. In Q4 2018, the unemployment rate in rural settlements was reduced by 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, while in urban settlements increased by 0.5 percentage points.

The share of self-employed people was 48.7% in the total employment data in Q4, said Geostat.

The unemployment rate is higher in men (by 2.6 percentage points) than in women. The unemployment rate in women decreased by 0.3 percentage points and in men increased by 0.6 percentage points.