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in April the eighth and final review under a lengthened four-year arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) in Georgia and is set to release special drawing rights worth SDR78mn ($111mn), bringing total disbursements under the programme to SDR484mn ($687mn).
The fund has also approved in September a general allocation of SDRs equivalent to $650bn of which Georgia will receive SDR202mn, which is equivalent to $286mn.
The IMF has doubled in July its forecast for Georgia’s economic growth this year from the 3.5% envisaged in April to a buoyant and slightly optimistic 7.7%. The forecast was issued under Article IV Consultations with the South Caucasus country.
4.4 Labour and income
4.4.1 Unemployment, income dynamics
COVID-19 wipes out around 12.2% of Georgia’s jobs as of Q1
Georgia’s unemployment rate at 21.9% in Q1
The number of formally employed Georgians decreased by 12.2% y/y in Q1 to 782,000, implying that around 108,000 jobs were wiped out by the coronavirus-driven crisis that mostly hit the “HoReCa” food service and hotel industries sector of a country that is reliant on tourism.
Georgia’s unemployment rate hit 21.9% in Q1, up by 3.7pp y/y. And the increase would have been steeper if some 80,000 Georgians had simply given up seeking a job. The population outside the labour force, the active population, exceeded for the first time in recent years half of the working-age population as labour force participation rate dropped to 48.3% of the active population, down from 51.3% last year.
The number of unemployed people in Georgia increased by nearly 35,000 to 317,500 in Q1, accounting for 10.6% of the working age population (or 21.9% of the active population).
While this was not the highest unemployment in recent years (the jobless rate was higher in Q1 of 2018), the low number of jobs is a more significant concern for social impact and economic growth. Compared to the first quarter
22 GEORGIA Country Report December 2021 www.intellinews.com