Page 19 - GEORptOct20

IMF disburses $200mn to Georgia to mitigate pandemic effects
The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved on May 1 the disbursement of a $200mn loan tranche to Georgia under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to help the country meet urgent balance of payments and fiscal needs stemming from effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The board completed its sixth review of Georgia’s economic reform programme supported by a three-year extended arrangement under the EFF. Total disbursements so far under the arrangement amount to about $448mn. In completing the review, it also approved a request from Georgia for a waiver of nonobservance on the performance criteria on the ceiling on the augmented general government deficit.
4.4 ​Labour and income
4.4.1​ Unemployment, income dynamics
Labour market assistance from COVID-19
Georgia’s unemployment rate inched down in 2019
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia on April 24 unveiled a Georgian lari (GEL) 3.5bn ($1.1bn, equivalent to 7% of GDP) anti-crisis plan to mitigate the economic and social effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
According to the PM, 350,000 citizens will be entitled to receive targeted financial assistance, “the bare minimum of what the Georgian Government could offer today to each of its citizens.”
The employees who have lost their jobs during the pandemic will receive a monthly allowance amounting to GEL200 for six months ($375 in total).
Employees who have not been laid off during the pandemic and receive less than a GEL750 ($234) salary, will be exempted from income tax for the next six months. For those who earn less than GEL1,500 ($469), income tax will only apply to a GEL750 ($234) tax base.
Self-employed people or jobless persons able to prove they have lost income due to the pandemic will receive GEL300 ($94) as one-off assistance. Socially deprived groups (320,000 people), as well as adults and children with disabilities (40,000 people), will be entitled to GEL600 ($188) financial assistance for the next six months.
Georgia’s unemployment rate dropped by 1.1 of a percentage point (pp) to 11.6% in 2019, continuing the downtrend of the last ten years,​ ​data from the state statistics office Geostat shows. ​Unemployment remained highest among young people, reaching over 25% for 20-24 year olds, even though it declined for this age group compared to 2017.
The unemployment rate declines steadily as ages increase though, as Geostat points out, the low level for the 65+ age group is due to the high inactivity rate in this age group.
The average monthly nominal earnings in Georgia amounted to GEL1,204 in 2019, up from GEL1,068.3 a year ago.
19​ GEORGIA Country Report ​October 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com