Georgian businesses employ 696,000 people in Q3 2019

Georgian businesses employed about 696,000 people in the third quarter of 2019, of which 40.9 per cent were women and 59.1 per cent were men.

The number of people employed in the Georgian business sector increased by 4.6 per cent compared to the same quarter of 2018, show the latest data by the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).

The majority of people employed in the business sector worked in Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi.

The percentage of employees by regions is distributed as follows:

• Tbilisi – 64.1 per cent
• Adjara – 9.7 per cent
• Kvemo Kartli – 6.8 per cent
• Imereti – 5.6 per cent
• Samegrelo-Zemo svaneti – 3.8 per cent

The majority of people (41.5 per cent) worked in small businesses, 36.3 per cent were employed in large businesses, and the remaining 22.2 per cent worked in medium-sized businesses, Geostat reported. 

Which sectors lead in the number of employees?

In Q3 of 2019, trade (26.2 per cent), manufacturing (10.3 per cent) and construction activities (10.3 per cent) were the leading business sectors in terms of employees.

However, human health and social activities (10.3 per cent), transportation and storage (8.1 per cent) and accommodation and food service activities (5.8 per cent) also had a significant share.

What is the average monthly salary in Georgia’s business sector?

The average monthly salary for a person employed in the business sector in Q3 of 2019 was about 1,316.2 GEL ($444.3/€401.3). This was an increase of 129.5 GEL ($43.7/€39.5) y/y.

Meanwhile, the average monthly salary for women in the business sector was 979.8 GEL ($330.7/€298.7), which is 87.2 GEL ($29.4/€26.6) more compared to Q3 of 2019.

Salaries differ per the size of the business.

Average monthly salaries based on the size of the business:

• Large businesses: 1,281.1 GEL ($432.4/€390.8)
• Medium-sized businesses: 1,463.6 GEL ($494/€446.2)
• Small businesses: 1,260.2 GEL ($425.4/€384.2)

Business sector’s turnover and production value in Q3 of 2019

The turnover enjoyed by Georgia’s business sector is increasing, reaching 29 billion GEL ($9.8 bln/€8.8 bln) in Q3 of 2019. This was 33 per cent more year-on-year (y/y).

The value of production generated by the business sector also grew to reach 12.8 billion GEL ($4.3 bln/€3.9 bln). This is 19.8 per cent higher y/y.

Large businesses made up the majority of total turnover (51.9 per cent), followed by small businesses (28.2 per cent), and then medium-sized businesses (19.9 per cent), said Geostat.

Additionally large businesses made up 38.2 per cent of total production value, small business generated 38.1 per cent of total production value and medium-sized businesses made up 23.7 per cent.