After a strong 2024, Georgia’s labour market stalled in 2025. The unemployment rate stayed at 13.9%, while participation and employment rates edged down, women’s participation fell, unemployment among the youngest workers rose, and urban unemployment increased. Earnings, meanwhile, kept rising quickly. This brief looks beyond the headline to what the 2025 data show.
Key Points
- The unemployment rate was 13.9% in 2025, unchanged from 2024 (Geostat).
- Labour force participation fell 0.3 points to 54.5%, and the employment rate fell 0.2 points to 46.9%.
- Women’s participation fell 0.7 points to 44.2%; men’s rose slightly to 66.3%.
- Unemployment among 15–19-year-olds rose to 39.0%, from 36.3% in 2024. Tbilisi recorded the highest regional unemployment rate, at 17.5%.
- Urban unemployment rose by 1.3 points; rural unemployment fell by 2.1 points.
- Average monthly earnings reached GEL 2,466 in Q4 2025, up 11.2% on a year earlier — growth in pay, without growth in employment rates.
1. Context
2024 was a strong year for the Georgian labour market: unemployment fell by 2.5 percentage points to 13.9%, and participation and employment rose (Geostat, 2025). Official commentary has focused on the low unemployment rate. The 2025 annual data allow a more careful assessment of whether that improvement continued.
2. What the 2025 Data Show
| Indicator | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 13.9% | 13.9% | 0.0 |
| Labour force participation | 54.8% | 54.5% | −0.3 |
| Employment rate | 47.1% | 46.9% | −0.2 |
| Women’s participation | 44.9% | 44.2% | −0.7 |
| Men’s participation | 66.2% | 66.3% | +0.1 |
| Share of employees in employment | 68.5% | 69.3% | +0.8 |
| Unemployment, age 15–19 | 36.3% | 39.0% | +2.7 |
Sources: Geostat (2025) for 2024; Geostat 2025 annual release as reported by GBC, 1TV and Georgia Today (2026).
The quarterly pattern was mixed: unemployment rose to 14.7% in the first quarter of 2025 but fell to 13.3% in the fourth quarter (Geostat, via 1TV and GBC). The annual average nevertheless stayed flat.
3. Analysis
A pause, not a reversal
The 2025 data do not show a deteriorating labour market: unemployment did not rise, and the share of employees in total employment increased, which suggests continued movement towards wage employment. But the momentum of 2024 did not continue. Participation and employment edged down, so the stable unemployment rate partly reflects fewer people in the labour force rather than more people in work.
Women and the young lost ground
The fall in women’s participation (−0.7 points) contrasts with a small rise for men, widening a gender gap that already exceeded 20 percentage points. Unemployment among 15–19-year-olds rose to 39.0%. These are the groups with the weakest attachment to the labour market, and they are typically the first to be affected when hiring slows.
An urban slowdown
Urban unemployment rose by 1.3 points while rural unemployment fell by 2.1 points, and Tbilisi had the highest regional rate at 17.5%. Since most new jobs in recent years have been in urban services, an increase in urban unemployment is a signal worth watching. PMCG Research (2025) observed that job vacancies began to decline in late 2024 and early 2025, which it linked to political developments.
Rising pay, flat employment
Average earnings continued to grow strongly — by 11.2% year-on-year in Q4 2025 (Geostat, 2026). Rising pay alongside flat employment rates suggests that gains are accruing mainly to those already in work, particularly in high-paying sectors, rather than drawing new people into employment.
Counter-argument: one year is too short to judge
Annual changes of a few tenths of a percentage point are within the range that can reflect survey variation, and the fourth-quarter fall to 13.3% may indicate renewed improvement. This is a fair caution. The changes for women’s participation and for the youngest workers are larger, however, and are consistent with longer-standing weaknesses identified in other GILS analyses.
4. Conclusion
Georgia’s labour market held steady in 2025 rather than improving further. The headline unemployment rate is unchanged, but participation and employment edged down, women and young people lost ground, and urban unemployment rose. Policymakers should judge the labour market by the full set of indicators — participation, employment, underutilisation and earnings distribution — not by the unemployment rate alone.
GILS Recommendations
- Report employment and participation rates alongside unemployment in official communications on labour market performance.
- Prioritise women’s participation through childcare and flexible formal work, given the 2025 decline.
- Monitor urban labour demand, including vacancies, to detect early signs of a slowdown in service-sector hiring.
- Target youth entry programmes at 15–24-year-olds, where unemployment rose in 2025.
GILS Position
A stable unemployment rate is not the same as a healthy labour market. In 2025 the indicators that matter most for inclusion — women’s participation and youth unemployment — moved in the wrong direction. GILS will track them each year.
References
- GBC (2026). The unemployment rate in 2025 has not changed — 13.9% (Geostat data). gbc.ge
- 1TV (2026). GeoStat reports unemployment rate in Georgia remains steady at 13.9% in 2025. 1tv.ge
- Georgia Today (2026). Unemployment rate in Georgia remains at 13.9% in 2025, Geostat reports. georgiatoday.ge
- 1TV (2026). GeoStat: In Quarter 4 of 2025, unemployment rate decreased to 13.3 percent. 1tv.ge
- Geostat (2025). Indicators of the Labour Force (Employment and Unemployment), 2024. geostat.ge
- Geostat (2026). Average Monthly Nominal Earnings of Employees (IV Quarter, 2025). geostat.ge
- PMCG Research (2025). Labor Market Overview: Georgia, Issue 151. research.pmcg-i.com
Suggested citation: GILS Research Team (2026). Georgia’s Labour Market in 2025: A Pause After a Strong Year. GILS Brief. Editor: G. Pkhakadze. Georgian Institute of Labour Studies, Tbilisi. labour.edu.ge
GILS analyses are prepared with AI-assisted drafting. All figures and claims are verified against the cited primary sources and reviewed under the responsibility of the Editor.