23,000 employed since launch of public programme for socially vulnerable - labour minister
Zurab Azarashvili, the Georgian minister of labour, briefed MPs on his body’s work on Friday. Photo: labour ministry press office
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Zurab Azarashvili, the Georgian minister of labour, on Friday said the government-initiated public employment programme for socially vulnerable citizens had given jobs to 23,000 people since March.
Addressing MPs at the parliament, the official said 61,000 socially vulnerable citizens had addressed his body for consultations over the programme since March 1, with 27,800 expressing readiness to work and 23,000 already employed.
More than 3,000 people have chosen employment in the open labour market; 4,300 socially vulnerable individuals said they were involved in informal economic activities and expressed desire to make them formal. About 600 people requested professional training and will be offered jobs after completing relevant courses”, said the minister, noting 23,000 citizens had abstained from employment so far.
The official said the jobs offered as part of the programme - announced by prime minister Irakli Garibashvili late last year and launched in February - included cleaning of public infrastructure and facilities, construction, prevention of spread of harmful insects and more.
Garibashvili explained the initiative would provide socially vulnerable citizens fit for work with jobs instead of the current social assistance, pointing out that over 200,000 out of 600,000 citizens in the socially vulnerable category were able to work but "do not participate in the economy and are demotivated to be employed legally".
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.
Unemployment rate in Georgia decreased by four percent in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same quarter of the previous year and equalled 18.1 percent across the country, data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia shows.
The government initiative of launching a previously announced employment programme that will replace social benefits with jobs for up to 200,000 citizens will commence on March 1, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announced at the government meeting on Monday.
A total of 20,000 vacancies were announced as the new Government-initiated public employment programme launched on Monday, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili revealed at the weekly Government meeting.
A series of European Union-funded labour market studies have identified low qualification of job seekers as one of the main barriers for both employers and those looking for work in Georgia, the EU Delegation to Georgia said on Wednesday.
Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday said the public employment programme for the country’s socially vulnerable individuals, proposed by him late last year, had given jobs to 25,000 people since March.