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Most Unemployed People in Georgia are Between Ages 20-24

The FINANCIAL

By Koka Kalandadze

40% of young people in Georgia amid 20-24 are unemployed in Georgia. This is the largest rate
within 15-65 age overall population.

However 54% of overall population is occupied with agriculture – according to the latest figures
obtained from national statistics office of Georgia.

As Giorgi Isakadze, president of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises noted, people aged 20-24
can be referred as recent graduates; ones coming from rural areas to Tbilisi searching for jobs;
also people having innovative ideas although with limited access to capital resources.

“There are still a lot of people in Georgia possessing MBA degree although they’re in short of
work places,” believes Isakadze.

“One possible way to resolve the issue is to develop private sector businesses especially small-
medium size enterprises, at the same time to provide an access to cheap credit for those
unemployed.

People in this age have great ideas, part of them living in the regions, although they hardly stay
there due to the fact that not enough resources are provided for them. Hence agriculture should
be the primary focus for them in addition to provision of cheap credit,” Isakadze told to The
FINANCIAL.

According to National Democratic Institute (NDI) research conducted for July 2010, with the
sample size of 2053 people, 65% out of them named unemployment as most important national
issues even over countries’ national interests and Euro-Atlantic integration. In addition to the
question - how many of them considered themselves employed – 71% disapproved that to be the
case; the research was conducted on the basis of face to face interviews.

It should be also noted that unemployment figures in Georgia is the highest compared to the
countries in the region. As said by The Heritage Foundation research about countries: Armenia
has 6.9% unemployment, Azerbaijan – 6%, Turkey -12.5 whilst in Georgia the figure reaches
16.4%, the highest in the range.
Employment in Georgia can be classified as people who are self-employed, hired and those
having undefined status. Among them self-employed labor takes the largest share 64%, majority
of whom are occupied with agriculture in rural areas.

Government, very recently, has taken steps to improve the prevailing “very dissatisfactory
situation’’-as president said. Consequently government will allocate additional GEL 150 million
in agriculture. As Saakashvili claimed the goal was to double agriculture production by 2015
which now contributes less than 10% of country’s GDP.

To reach the projected level of output government also plans to create processing plants,
agriculture store houses and logistics centers. As said by the president this will be one of the
government’s steps to fight inflation.

In addition to government, partner organizations like USAID support country’s endeavor to


boost agriculture growth; in this direction 37 million dollars of investment has been taken, also
USAID is building 30 service centers all across Georgia to provide people with access to
necessary agriculture techniques.

International Finance Corporation, part World Bank Group, is also launching series of seminars
to help Georgia’s food producers learn how to comply with new food safety requirements,
improve food safety practices, and thus boost competitiveness and increase food exports.
Seminars will be held all over Georgia.

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