“In the third quarter of 2024, Georgia's unemployment rate fell by 1.8 percentage points year-on-year, reaching 13.8%,” - according to preliminary data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).

The number of employed individuals increased by 31.2 thousand (3.3%) compared to the same period in the previous year, bringing the total to 974.4 thousand. Meanwhile, the number of self-employed individuals rose by 9.9 thousand (2.4%), reaching 432.7 thousand. The number of unemployed individuals decreased by 26.4 thousand (10.5%), totaling 225.7 thousand.

The labor force participation rate (the proportion of the labor force in the total population aged 15 and older) rose by 1.0 percentage point, reaching 54.7%. The employment rate increased by 1.8 percentage points to 47.1%. In urban areas, the labor force participation rate grew by 2.0 percentage points, while in rural areas it declined by 0.3 percentage points. The employment rate in urban areas rose by 3.2 percentage points, while in rural areas it remained unchanged at 44.8%, compared to 48.7% in urban areas.

The share of hired employees in the total employed population increased by 0.2 percentage points, reaching 69.2%.

In the third quarter of 2024, the unemployment rate in urban areas decreased by 2.6 percentage points, while in rural areas, it fell by 0.5 percentage points.

As is traditionally the case, the unemployment rate was higher for men than for women. Compared to the previous year, the unemployment rate for women decreased by 1.3 percentage points, to 11.5%, and for men, it fell by 2.0 percentage points, to 15.6%.

The labor force participation rate was higher for men than for women. For women, it was 44.9%, while for men, it was 66.1%. The participation rate for women increased by 1.9 percentage points, and for men, it rose by 0.2 percentage points, compared to the third quarter of 2023.

The employment rate for women increased by 2.2 percentage points, while for men, it rose by 1.5 percentage points, compared to the same period last year.