Q1 2016: Georgia’s businesses enjoy 12.7b GEL turnover

The turnover earned by Georgia’s businesses is increasing and reached 12.7 billion GEL in the first quarter (Q1) of 2016.

Latest quarterly figures released by the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) said revenue generated in the business sector in Q1 of 2016 was 15 percent higher year-on-year (y/y).

The value of production generated by the business sector amounted to 6.5 billion GEL in Q1 of 2016. This was 15 percent higher y/y.

Large businesses made up the majority of total turnover (83 percent), followed by small businesses (10 percent) and medium-sized businesses (7 percent), Geostat said.

Additionally large businesses made up 80.6 percent of total production value, small businesses generated 10.1 percent of total production value and medium-sized businesses made up 9.3 percent of this.

How many people are employed in the business sector?

About 577,600 people were employed in Georgian businesses in Q1, which was 6 percent more y/y.

From the 577,600 employed people, 41 percent were women and 59 percent were men. The majority of people (61 percent) were employed in large businesses, noted Geostat.

What is average monthly salary in Georgia?

The total value of salaries for all businesses in Georgia for Q1 2016 reached 922.4 GEL. This was an increase of 70.7 GEL y/y.

Meanwhile the average monthly salary for women in the business sector was 687.1 GEL, or 46 GEL more compared to the same quarter of last year.

The amount of money earned by businesses ranged on the size of their enterprise, with larger businesses earning more than their smaller counterparts.

• Large businesses: 1,092.2 GEL per month;
• Medium-sized businesses: 724.8 GEL; 
• Small businesses: 513.1 GEL.

The main sectors of employment were trade and repair of vehicles, consumer products and personal care.

Number of employees per region

The majority of people worked in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, which was regarded as the country’s economic hub.

Geostat revealed the number of employees by region:

• Tbilisi – 66.2 percent;
• Adjara – 8.8 percent;
• Imereti – 6.8 percent;
• Kvemo Kartli – 5.4 percent;
• Samegrelo-Zemo-Svaneti – 3.7 percent.

Meanwhile, employment and unemployment annual data of 2015 by Geostat said about 1.8 million people were employed in Georgia last year and most of them were self-employed.

Geostat data showed:

• 2,021,500 people in Georgia’s workforce
• 958,300 people outside the labour force category

Last year just over two million people were capable of working in Georgia however only 1,779,900 (60 percent) were employed.

The majority of people who worked in Georgia were self-employed, said Geostat.

Figures showed 1,018,100 people were self-employed while 753,400 were hired and the remaining 8,400 workers did not specify their employment status.

In 2015 the annual unemployment rate in Georgia declined by 0.4 percentage points and equalled 12 percent. This was the lowest level within the past 12 years, said Geostat.

The data also revealed 241,600 (12 percent) of people within Georgia’s workforce were unemployed last year.