In particular, according to the new standard, self-employed persons who are not market-oriented and produce agricultural products mainly (more than 50%) for their own consumption will no longer be considered as self-employed. Persons with this status were reclassified into other categories (unemployed, population outside the labor force) depending on whether they are looking for or ready to start a job.
Here are the 5 results of the recalculation of the data caused by the introduction of the new ILO standard.
a) The unemployment rate has increased and the employment rate has decreased compared to the previously published data
b) The unemployment rate is significantly higher in rural settlements (approximately 3 times), while the difference in urban settlements is relatively insignificant.
c) The employment rate calculated with the new standard is 13-15 percentage points lower than with the old standard.
d) The introduction of the new standard caused a significant decrease in the share of the self-employed in the total number of employed (decreased from 49.7% to 30.7% in 2019).
e) The introduction of the new standard also caused a decrease in the economic activity rate of the population, which is related to the reclassification of a significant part of the self-employed.
The methodological basis for the current employment and unemployment statistics in Georgia was the guideline proposed by the International Labor Organization (ILO), adopted in 1982 at the 13th International Conference of Labor Statisticians. The new standard was proposed by the ILO in 2013 and officially entered into force in October 2018, at the 20th International Conference of Labor Statisticians.
