Geostat introduces new standards in Labour Force Statistics developed by the International Labour Organization

Date: 24 December 2020

Geostat introduces the new standards developed by the International Labour Organization in Labour Force Statistics, which includes the calculation of employment and unemployment statistics in accordance with the new methodology.
.
The methodological basis for the current employment and unemployment statistics in Georgia is the guideline proposed by the International Labour Organization (ILO), adopted in 1982 at the 13th International Conference of Labour Statisticians.
.
The new standard was proposed by the ILO in 2013 and officially entered into force in October 2018, at the 20th International Conference of Labour Statisticians.
.
Work on the introduction of the new standard in Georgia has been actively carried out by Geostat since 2019, in close cooperation with the International Labour Organization and the Statistics Denmark, in the framework of a project initiated by the European Union and Eurostat.
.
The transition to a new methodology of the International Labour Organization involves the reclassification of the self-employed persons and the calculation of additional indicators of the labour force. In particular, according to the new standard, self-employed persons who are not market-oriented and produce agricultural products mainly (more than 50%) for their own consumption will no longer be considered as self-employed. Persons with this status were reclassified into other categories (unemployed, population outside the labour force) depending on whether they are looking for or ready to start a job.
.
As international practice shows, the introduction of new standards will lead to an increase in the unemployment rate and a decrease in the employment rate. However, in order to harmonize with the indicators of the previous period, the previous historical series should be recalculated.
.
Employment and unemployment statistics calculated according to the new methodology will be published by Geostat on December 28 this year. In the meantime, it is planned to update the previous historical series, from 2010.