Page 21 - GEORptFeb22

Average monthly salary in Georgia at GEL1,328 in Q3
(trade, essentially) and IT&C, where the number of employees advanced by 3,300 (+39%), 3,200 (+1.8%) and 5,900 (+25%) respectively. The sectors of mining and IT&C have demonstrated a significant advance in relative terms, while retail is a major employer and any change makes a big impact overall.
The employment mostly decreased in the sectors of constructions (-9,400 or -13% compared to 2019), HoReCa (-5,600 or -14%) and arts and entertainment (-4,400 or -27%) - but the government has as well decreased the workforce hired in public administration (-3,000 or 12.6%).
According to Georgia’s National Statistics Office (Geostat), in Q3, the average monthly nominal earnings in Georgia increased by GEL42.5 q/q to total GEL1,368.5.
Geostat said the average earnings equalled GEL 1 077 for women and GEL 1 560 for men. As for the annual growth of earnings, the figure amounted to GEL 153.6 for women and GEL 207.6 for men. "In the majority of sectors of the economy the average monthly earnings of men were higher compared to women," noted Geostat.
According to the statistics office, the highest earnings were observed in the following fields: financial and insurance activities, GEL 2,354.7 (increased by 15.4% y/y); information and communication, GEL 2,173.0 (increased by 12.4%); construction, GEL 2,006.1 (increased by 23.7%); and professional, scientific and technical activities, GEL 1 919.5 (increased by 7.4%).
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Q1 2021
Q2 2021
Q3 2021
Labour force (active population), thousand persons
1629.0
1675.6
1653.8
1641.4
1605.2
1572.8
1523.7
1447.2
1559.1
1592.0
Employed, thousand persons
1,255.0
1308.5
1294.5
1286.9
1296.2
1295.9
1241.8
1129.7
1214.6
1281.2
Unemployed, thousand persons
374.0
367.2
359.2
354.5
309.0
276.9
281.9
317.5
344.6
310.8
Unemployment rate %
23.0
21.9
21.7
21.6
19.2
17.6
18.5
21.9
22.1
19.5
Average monthly nominal earnings, GEL
818.0
900.4
940.0
999.1
1068.3
1129.5
1191.0
1256.2
1326.0
1368.5
Source: Geostat
4.4.2 Retail sector dynamics
Retail sales grew 32.5% y/y in 3Q21
Retail sales in Georgia increased 32.5% y/y in the third quarter of 2021,
compared to a whopping 51.1% increase in the second quarter and a plunge of 5.7% in the last quarter of 2020, according to Geostat. The second quarter of 2020 was by far the largest decline in retail trade recorded at -14.5% brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2017, retail trade turnover reached GEL9,929.8mn, up from GEL8,101.9mn in 2016. Retail sales, which has been growing at a strong double-digit pace for several years, grew by only 8-9% in 2015-16 as wage growth slowed and unemployment rose.
21 GEORGIA Country Report February 2022 www.intellinews.com