Unemployment rate in Georgia decreased by 1.4 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023 and equalled 16.7 percent across the country, data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia shows, Azernews reports, citing Agenda.

Geostat said the number of hired employees had increased by 5.6 percent and reached 916,700 individuals, while the number of self-employed had increased by 2.2 percent and equalled 410,200.

In the same period, the number of unemployed decreased by 5.2 percent and equalled 266,900", Geostat said.

The share of the labour force in the total population aged 15 and older increased by 1.6 percentage points year-on-year and became 53.2 percent, while the employment rate increased by 2.1 percentage points and amounted to 44.3 percent.

The labour force participation rate in urban settlements increased by one percentage points, while it increased by 2.4 percentage points in rural settlements compared to the previous year. The employment rate increased in urban settlements (by 2.1 percentage points) as well as in rural areas (by 2 percentage points) and equalled 44.9 and 43.4 percent, respectively", Geostat said.

The share of hired employees among employed individuals was 69.1 percent, 0.7 percentage points higher than the previous year`s corresponding period, according to the Office.

In Q2, the unemployment rate decreased in urban (by 2.5 percentage points) while it increased in rural settlements (by 0.2 percentage points).

The body also said the unemployment rate was "traditionally higher for men than for women", with the labour force participation rate higher for men than for women.

"This indicator decreased for women by 0.5 percentage points, while it decreased by two percentage points for men and equaled 14.5 and 18.5 percent, respectively", Geostat said.