New forms of employment in the labor market

Murtaz Kvirkvaia  Mogeli Shengelia

Journal number 2 ∘ Murtaz Kvirkvaia ∘ Mogeli Shengelia ∘
New forms of employment in the labor market

Expanded Summary

Employment of population has remained an unsolvable problem for Georgia for the last three decades. According to official data, the level of unemployment in 2010-2021 is on average about 20 percent, which is about 300 thousand people.

The number of self-employed people in Georgia is quite high (about 400 thousand). It should be assumed that a significant part of them is not, in fact, employed or is classified as inefficiently employed due to low incomes. The ineffectiveness of employment is indicated by the fact that almost a fifth of the workforce is employed in agriculture, where wages, labor productivity, and incomes are low. For example, in the same agriculture in 2021, the average nominal salary was 950.3 GEL. The situation is similar in several other fields.

Technological progress has put on the agenda the need for new approaches to the labor market. In the scientific literature, digital work platforms are considered as new forms of employment and new opportunities for the workforce that were created as a result of the progress made in digital technologies.

Digital job platforms are intermediaries in the labor market based on modern digital technologies. Connecting labor supply and demand through the platform is based on specific algorithmic management.

Digital work platforms can be divided into two groups. The first is online digital work platforms, where workers perform work (tasks) online and remotely. Such jobs include, for example, graphic design, translation services, consulting, project management, etc. Examples of online digital job platforms are Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, etc. The second group refers to such mediation of the digital work platform in the labor market when the worker has to perform the work (task) on the spot. Such jobs include, for example, transportation services (taxi and others); Courier services and food delivery; housekeeping; On-site training and consulting, etc. Examples of the second group of digital work platforms are Deliveroo, Glovo, Uber, etc.

There are hundreds of digital platforms in today's labor markets around the world. Some of them even employ millions of people worldwide (like Uber). Digital work platforms create flexible workplaces and provide people with additional income opportunities.

In Georgia, there is no accurate information about the employees within the digital work platform.

According to the research of the European Training Foundation, the most common digital work platforms in Georgia are Glovo, Bolt, GG Taxi, Alo Modi, Yandex Taxi. According to the same study, a certain number of the population of Georgia was registered on international online work platforms such as Weblancer, Freelance, Upwork, Fiver, Guru, etc.

The role of digital work platforms in the employment of the population in the future will depend on the availability of information technology infrastructure across the country, the possibilities of training the workforce in the information technology direction, the level of training the workforce in foreign languages, etc.

EKONOMISTI The international scientific and analytical, reviewed, printing and electronic journal of Paata Gugushvili Institute of Economics of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University

DOI: 10.36172/EKONOMISTI E ISSN 2346-8432 Print ISSN 1987-6890	Journal number 2 ∘ Murtaz Kvirkvaia ∘ Mogeli Shengelia ∘ New forms of employment in the labor market Expanded Summary Employment of population has remained an unsolvable problem for Georgia for the last three decades. According to official data, the level of unemployment in 2010-2021 is on average about 20 percent, which is about 300 thousand people. The number of self-employed people in Georgia is quite high (about 400 thousand). It should be assumed that a significant part of them is not, in fact, employed or is classified as inefficiently employed due to low incomes. The ineffectiveness of employment is indicated by the fact that almost a fifth of the workforce is employed in agriculture, where wages, labor productivity, and incomes are low. For example, in the same agriculture in 2021, the average nominal salary was 950.3 GEL. The situation is similar in several other fields. Technological progress has put on the agenda the need for new approaches to the labor market. In the scientific literature, digital work platforms are considered as new forms of employment and new opportunities for the workforce that were created as a result of the progress made in digital technologies. Digital job platforms are intermediaries in the labor market based on modern digital technologies. Connecting labor supply and demand through the platform is based on specific algorithmic management. Digital work platforms can be divided into two groups. The first is online digital work platforms, where workers perform work (tasks) online and remotely. Such jobs include, for example, graphic design, translation services, consulting, project management, etc. Examples of online digital job platforms are Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, etc. The second group refers to such mediation of the digital work platform in the labor market when the worker has to perform the work (task) on the spot. Such jobs include, for example, transportation services (taxi and others); Courier services and food delivery; housekeeping; On-site training and consulting, etc. Examples of the second group of digital work platforms are Deliveroo, Glovo, Uber, etc. There are hundreds of digital platforms in today's labor markets around the world. Some of them even employ millions of people worldwide (like Uber). Digital work platforms create flexible workplaces and provide people with additional income opportunities. In Georgia, there is no accurate information about the employees within the digital work platform. According to the research of the European Training Foundation, the most common digital work platforms in Georgia are Glovo, Bolt, GG Taxi, Alo Modi, Yandex Taxi. According to the same study, a certain number of the population of Georgia was registered on international online work platforms such as Weblancer, Freelance, Upwork, Fiver, Guru, etc. The role of digital work platforms in the employment of the population in the future will depend on the availability of information technology infrastructure across the country, the possibilities of training the workforce in the information technology direction, the level of training the workforce in foreign languages, etc.