OUR UNEMPLOYMENT AND THEIR JOB DONE

Eka Gabadadze

From the very beginning of the 21st century, the army of unemployed in Georgia will complete with tens of thousands of high-qualified personnel. Universities and institutes will prepare twenty thousand of diploma awarded cadres each year.

The outcome is banal and simple: industry and production, small and large business and all others have to be supported. Despite immense attempts by governmental and non-governmental organizations, different structures and bodies, poverty reduction and social being remain as the unsolvable dilemma. None can today say how many unemployed and employed people are in the country. Real picture is too easy to imagine – go out in the streets in the working hours and you’ll see yourself (?!) However if take the official estimates in account, situation is not so hard. Approximately 2 million Georgians are employed!
It’s interesting how the civilian is counted employed?! There is a methodology of international labour organization used by State Department of Statistics of Georgia – employed person is the one who worked for even an hour of the last week. Thereof, figures are far from reality. Should also be mentioned the share of legal employers in total quantity of the employed. They say that the figure above is too low.
Again figures: the share of the hired among 2 million employees barely reaches 722000, 63% of which are in the state sector. All the appraisals about supporting small and large business do not even effect a little this number. Treasury organizations hire 321000 people, the rest of 156000 (only 37%) are employed in private one. By the way, such low rate of the employed doesn’t indicate to good and all that is added by fact that hidden economy in Georgia is extremely deep and strong.
We’re far back from preferable state. As experts forecast, hidden economy, in coming years, will expand, instead of restricting. Let’s go back to the figures now. Unemployment will reach catastrophic scales even in the first years of the new century – total number is expectable to increase with 25-30 thousands caused by lessen of staffs in budget organizations and unemployment of 99% of just graduated students. 20 thousand of total 25 will be the diploma awarded people, 13 thousand of which are the graduated from state universities. Thereof, state finances unemployment – in the universities firstly (they are gratis) and in employment centers with benefits secondly. There’s a purposeless finance for two times?
In a word, there are number of problems in employment sphere. Government entrusted them to the Department of Employment and Labour Relations. Since the day (1. 01. 2000) of appointing the new chairman, department had made a number of loud announcements: It’s important to complete the era of passive policy! Country should transit to active policy! Etc.
What was formerly? As people say, they had everything? Seems like tired with endless reforms, transformations and changes “obivatel” is missing the past times of immovability. It’s a great fortune, if only the one of five members in family is employed. However, we can’t blame everything on government and officials. Employment centers are full of applications of job seekers. Some apply for job, some for getting 5-6 laried per month. Thus, the one willing really to work is able to find it. Many of applicants do think that applying to the employment center, they have done the best. They are considered passive and ambitious who mostly imagine that can, but indeed will do far less then are having to do.
Dazmir Jojua, Head of Social Services at the President Chancellery of Georgia: “Institutional reform in employment system had been carried out last year. I mean the transformation of state labour market into employment department, restructurization of professional orientation center, merger of employment department and employment fund etc. Mr. President had issued the act on establishing the national council of employment, which was caused by developed, last times, matters in social life of Georgia. Elimination of unemployment as well as support of employment is main items of President’s election program. We’re now approaching the question of personification. As 2000 estimates by State Department of Statistics of Georgia informed that the employed comprised 2283000 people, which is 96,2% of total capable labour, 1418000 or 59,8% of them were self employed. Besides, number of registered in state employment center comprised 266000 or 4,6%. Of course, it’s not the real picture. I’d like to present the estimates by TACIS those look absolutely different. Capable labour comprises 2 millions, 1030000 or 47% of which are employed. The unemployed comprises 266000 or 12,9%. Thus, figures, in most cases, do not present reality”.
HOW THE PERSON CAN BE EMPLOYED?
With the purpose of creating new jobs, important is to stimulate small and mid-size business. This process, in certain scales, has already set up, but the effective mechanism of operation is still on the stage of plans, one of reasons of which were nonexistence of amounts for elaborating the active policy in past years. As to current year, state budget had already allocated 1 million GEL for that purpose. To the opinion of specialists, the above amount won’t influence country much. Thus a certain part of entire problem will be solved. Here should be foreseen the above-mentioned support for small and mid-size business?
Money in Georgia exists. So do the people who may receive it, but there’s a huge problem with it: there’s no mechanism that could convey money from bank to entrepreneur and even if so, acceptor is not ready to use amounts effectively.
Rezo Sakvarelidze: “Why to nonexistence of conveying system is simple, entrepreneurs have no guarantee. That’s the most important problem. There doesn’t exist the warrant for receiving the credit and then meeting it. For the end of solving that problem in view, we are going to establish the consulting center throughout country. From 1 September 2001, ten concerned centers will set about to work. That won’t be the centers of professional preparation aimed at embezzling money. Besides preparation services, they will provide consulting and information guidance for small businesses as well as to unemployed people in legislative basis, creation of business-plans etc. Of course, it won’t be achievable for everyone. Not all applicants could be able to receive credits or find jobs. It will have to be ready for business. Examined in consulting centers people will accept the special certificate. Then they’ll be able to present business-deals in employment centers”.
This project is going to be set in 2002. Future plans imply creation of warrant funds, right what will be the mediator between prepared entrepreneur and bank. This may be done even in current year. It will be the pilot organization, importance of which will be regulated by market demand in future. Many of developed countries have experienced that already. As specialists consider, warrant funds provide significant aid to small and mid-size businesses.
For now, the problem of unemployment is the same as past years. Sometimes, listening to nice-speaking officials, we dream of rose universe, but as soon as go out in the streets and see people digging through the recycle bins, illusion disappears and harsh reality brings us to feebleness.