Georgian gov't vows to offer jobs to citizens fit to work instead of social assistance
Based on the Social Service Agency a total of 633,000 people receive social assistance in the country as of October 2021 and the amount of cash benefits surpasses 43 million GEL (about $13,817,480/€12,226,676). Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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The Georgian government will present a programme in the upcoming weeks which will provide socially vulnerable citizens who are fit for work with jobs instead of social assistance, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said today.
Today, able-bodied socially vulnerable citizens are not motivated to start new jobs for fear that the state will remove social assistance thereafter,” Garibashvili said.
He noted that it is concerning that these people are not motivated to improve their living conditions, adding that the state ‘must take bold and effective steps.’
Garibashvili announced that a public jobs programme will be created in order to replace social assistance with job offers for citizens fit for work. Photo: Georgian Government Administration.
We have started working on it with members of the government, and I believe that in the next few weeks we will present to the public a programme that has been tested and proved to be the right vision in successful European countries,” said Garibashvili.
The programme will be headed by Georgian Agriculture Minister Levan Davitashvili who underscored that the ‘PM’s initiative will activate the able-bodied population, involving them in public activities in order to improve their social status.’
Through the new initiative of the PM, we will be able to improve many social issues in the country. This is the best experience and practice that many Central or Eastern European countries have successfully implemented,” Davitashvili said.
He also emphasised that about 240,000-250,000 people are fit for work in Georgia who receive social assistance and added that the income of these people should increase and their qualifications should be improved through the programme.
Based on the Social Service Agency a total of 633,000 people receive social assistance in the country as of October 2021 and the amount of cash benefits surpasses 43 million GEL (about $13,817,480/€12,226,676).
The Georgian Ministry of Finance has started negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the launch of a new three-year programme. Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili has met the IMF mission chief James John to discuss economic conditions and projected market reforms in Georgia.
The unemployment rate in Georgia has increased by 2.5% in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the same period of last year, amounting to 19.5%, the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) reports.
The number of people receiving social assistance in Georgia has reached 633,000 in October 2021, Social Service Agency reports. As of today, 17% of the Georgian population receive social assistance, while the total amount of allowance given to the socially vulnerable exceeded 43 million GEL (about $13.61 m. / €11.79 m.) in October.
The Consumer Price Index in October 2021 increased by 1.3% compared to the previous month, while the annual inflation rate in Georgia stood at 12.8%, the latest inflation data of the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) show.
Georgia’s prime minister Irakli Garibashvili will next week present a new public employment programme of the government, with the initiative aiming to provide jobs to socially vulnerable citizens fit for work, instead of social assistance.
A total of 117,897 people received governmental social support package in Georgia in 2021, figures from the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) show. In the latest release of data from the agency, statistics for state financial aid to underprivileged citizens show 34.7 percent of recipients being women, with 65.3 percent men.
The Georgian government’s job programme will aim to involve 100,000 citizens this year, offering them work instead of social assistance, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Wednesday.
A total of 14,382 vacancies were announced in the new government-initiated public employment programme as of March 1, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs said on Wednesday.
A total of 14,744, 673 million GEL ($4,557,991mln/€4,148,970mln) was issued by municipalities across Georgia last year in the form of “individual state aid,” with the figure marking a 22 percent increase compared to 2020, the Georgian National Competition Agency announced on Thursday.