A total of 518,490 people received subsistence allowances in Georgia in October, marking a decrease of 28,625 compared to September, according to official figures. Of those who lost their benefits, 16,494 were participants in the now-cancelled state employment programme, while more than 12,000 were registered in the social assistance database.
Over the first ten months of the year (January–October), social assistance payments were discontinued for a total of 191,736 people, including nearly 122,000 participants in the employment programme. Meanwhile, 125,159 beneficiaries receiving assistance in October were still enrolled in the programme, as their four-year participation period had not yet expired.
On October 7, Health Minister Mikheil Sarjveladze said that a review of the social assistance database had helped the government save several tens of millions of lari. He noted that the database is constantly changing as new families qualify for assistance while others leave the system.
The number of social assistance recipients began rising in 2020, when eligibility reviews were suspended during the pandemic. In 2022, the government introduced an employment programme for welfare recipients, which Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has since described as ineffective, claiming that employment under the scheme was largely fictitious. More than GEL 300 million was spent on the programme.
