Page 21 - GEORptNov19

4.4 ​Labour and income
4.4.1​ Unemployment, income dynamics
Wages in Georgia up real 2.4% y/y in Q2
Georgia’s unemployment rate inched down in 2018
The average wage in Georgia increased by 6.9% y/y to Georgian lari (GEL) 1,180 ($400) in Q2.​ Growth was, however, only 2.4% y/y in real terms. The income discrepancies in Georgia are wide in terms of size and growth and in the past couple of years have generally increased at rates below GDP growth.
The average wage in manufacturing was GEL 1,066 in Q2, up by a real 7.7% y/y. In contrast, the average wage in education was only GEL636, after moving up by a real 3.0% y/y. The highest wages are in financial services (GEL2,394), professional services (GEL1,900), IT (GEL1,806) and mining (GEL1,542). The lowest wages, beside education, are in agriculture (GEL683) and utilities (GEL790).
Real wages over the past 12 months in Georgia increased by 2.2% y/y compared to a GDP growth of over 4%. The trend growth in wages is rather volatile, with the indicator accelerating from 1.5% y/y in Q1. Over the past two years, the trend growth of wages, supposed to smooth out the volatility of monthly or quarterly dynamics, ranged from --0.7% y/y to +3.5% y/y. The cross-sector section of the growth rates database indicates that, in Q2, the trend growth ranged from +15.8% y/y (administrative services) to -9.6% y/y (agriculture).
Georgia’s unemployment rate dropped by 1.2 of a percentage point (pp) to 12.7% in 2018, continuing the downtrend of the last nine years,​ ​data from the state statistics office Geostat shows. ​Unemployment remained highest among young people, reaching over 25% for 20-24 year olds, even though it declined for this age group compared to 2017.
The unemployment rate declines steadily as ages increase though, as Geostat points out, the low level for the 65+ age group is due to the high inactivity rate in this age group.
21​ GEORGIA Country Report​ November 2019 ​ ​www.intellinews.com