Roman Gotsiridze, an opposition MP, on Friday responded to 1.4 percent decrease in unemployment rate - the latest data released by the country’s National Statistics Office - and claimed the figure was a “sign of demographic catastrophe”. 

In his comments, the former chair of the National Bank of Georgia under the United National Movement Government, said the data meant the outflow of labor force from the country and replacing them with foreign nationals, specifically by Russians, on the backdrop of Moscow’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine. 

“What seems to be good at first glance, is actually a cause of the country's demographic catastrophe", he said. 

For its part, the current Georgian Dream authorities claim the “lowest ever unemployment rate” pointed to the country’s “economic advancement”.