Unemployment hits “historic low”, 70,000 jobs created this year - PM to Parliament

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday told the Parliament the country’s unemployment rate had decreased to 17.3 percent this year and marked a “historic law”, adding 70,000 jobs had been created in the first quarter of 2023. 

Presenting his Government's annual report to lawmakers, the PM contrasted the number to the “almost 27 percent” unemployment in 2012, when the Georgian Dream Government took office, before hailing efforts of his office to encourage new jobs by creating a “favourable business environment”. 

The head of the Government claimed the absolute poverty rate had also fallen to a “historical minimum” of 15.6 percent, contrasting the figure to 30 percent in 2012. 

“The figures mean the poverty rate has almost halved over the past decade, and 535,000 people have been able to escape poverty”, Garibashvili said, adding 1,271,000 individuals were employed across the country based on latest data.