Expanded Summary

Polarization of the labor market is a relevant topic in Europe and the US. It refers to the growing disparity between high-skilled, high-paying jobs and low-skilled, low-paying jobs, with a decline in middle-skilled jobs. Numerous studies are being conducted to address this process and to better understand its complexity. However, it should be noted that there are few studies on labor market polarization in Georgia. The study analyzes labor market polarization in Georgia from 2017 to 2022. The research is based on data obtained from the National Statistics Office of Georgia. The analysis of statistical data reveals the level of labor market polarization in Georgia. Based on the results of the research, it is confirmed that labor market polarization is revealed in Georgia.

Since the early 2000s, it has been predicted that technological advancement and computerization would lead to significant changes in the labor market. The main idea of this concept was that this progress would result in different developments in routine and non-routine work. Routine work could easily be replaced by computers, artificial intelligence, or robots. The decline in routine work leads to the displacement of average-qualified workers to lower or higher-qualified jobs or even unemployment. This process is called labor market polarization, which is the most challenging in finding the best solution.

Technological development and computerization have an impact on the labor market. It should be noted that this process affects routine and non-routine jobs differently. Routine work is easily replaced by computers, artificial intelligence, or robots. This is precisely what causes the outflow of middle-skilled labor either to lower or higher-skilled jobs or even to unemployment. This process is called labor polarization, which even in the best-case scenario when middle-skilled workers do not have to go into unemployment, causes them to "drain" into lower-skilled and therefore lower-paid jobs.

Two main causes of labor polarization are identified:

• Technological change - routine jobs are no longer as demanding as they were in the past due to automation.
• Globalization and Offshoring - The growth of global trade and the reduction of transport costs means that some jobs have moved to countries outside Western Europe.

Polarization of labor is one of the problems for European Countries (in general for the world). Therefore, there are bulk of research, but in Georgia, no research has been conducted in this regard.

In recent years, as a result of the low growth of population and increased migration flow in Georgia, the labor force has been decreasing. According to the study of the labor market information system (www.lmis.gov.ge ), the unemployment rate in Georgia in 2021 was 20.6%, which is 2.1% more than the data of the same period of the previous year.

The Georgian labor market has different specificities compared to the European counterpart. In general, in European countries, the salary corresponds to the level of workers' qualifications. A highly qualified job in Georgia does not automatically mean a high salary. However, according to studies, the development of technologies plays an important role in the polarization of the Georgian labor market.

To reveal the polarization of the Georgian labor market, we classified the jobs into high, middle, and low-skilled jobs. Since statistics on the distribution of employees by professional groups are available only from 2017, the study reflects the dynamics of labor polarization from 2017 to 2022.

As a result of research, we found out that unlike European countries, our country has a different situation in this regard. Labor polarization is very weak in Georgia. The analysis of the five-year dynamics allows us to conclude that the situation has not changed during this period - the highest number of jobs are still in the highly skilled sector, followed by low and finally middle-skilled jobs. In the context of wages, low-wage jobs prevail in all workplaces, be they high-, medium-, or low-skilled.

Most people are employed in high-skilled jobs (14.4%), followed by those employed in low-skilled jobs (11.4%), and finally, the lowest percentage of people are in middle-skilled jobs (9.9%). If we consider labor polarization from the perspective of income distribution, for this, let's consider the distribution of jobs according to income in Georgia. Wage levels are divided as follows: low wage - 600 GEL or less, average - 601-1500 GEL per month, and high - 1501 GEL or more. The share of low-skilled jobs is the largest among all professional groups in Georgia.

In contrast to developed countries, where low-skilled and high-skilled jobs are growing and the middle-skills are disappearing, in Georgia, the opposite picture emerges. low-skilled jobs prevail in all workplaces, whether they are high, middle, or low-skilled.

Keywords: Labor Market; Polarization; Automatization; Technological Change; Globalization;