Characteristics of the employed in Georgia
As previously mentioned, there is a strong rural/urban division in the LABOR market. Employment rates are exceptionally high and increasing in rural areas and low and falling in urban areas. In 1999 the share of Georgia’s rural working-age population to be employed increased from 72% to 75%. At the same time, employment rates in urban areas fell slightly from 42.1% to 41.8%. These rates are extreme if compared to the more balanced EU-15 employment rates indicated below. As has been previously argued, this is more a reflection of poverty than of a healthy rural economy, as people increasingly turn to agriculture to survive. It is also the result of a loose employment definition, which disguises considerable amounts of unemployment. Rural areas now account for over 60% of the country’s total employment. At the same time, the low urban employment rates are a reflection of high unemployment levels and a fall in urban LABOR force participation. Read more
