Research data shows 42% increase in people receiving monthly salary above $3,310 in Georgia

The number of individuals receiving a monthly salary higher than ₾9,600 (about $3,310/€3,149) increased by 42 percent in May year-on-year, a report published by PMC Research Centre on Wednesday showed.

The statistical update also showed a five percent year-on-year increase in the number of people receiving a monthly salary in the country, with individuals on a ₾600 (about $206./€196) wage comprising 24.3 percent (5.3 percentage points less y/y) and those on ₾2,400 (about $827/€787) reaching 16.7 percent (4.3 percentage points more y/y).

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From December 2021 to May 2022, the total number of vacancies posted on jobs.ge website amounted to 33,703, 67 percent higher compared to the corresponding period of 2020-2021. 

A breakdown of vacancies by categories was as follows:

• 11,339 vacancies posted under technical/logistics jobs
• 9,635 vacancies in sales/procurement 
• 7,123 vacancies in administration/management

Source: Geostat

Unemployment rate in Georgia increased by 2.1 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year and reached 20.6 percent across the country, data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia showed.

The highest rate of unemployment was observed in the 15-19 age group (52.2 percent), while the indicator has traditionally been lowest in the 65+ age group (6 percent) due to the “low activity” of the population in this age group, according to Geostat.

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Other data published by Geostat said the average monthly salary in Georgia was up by ₾190 ($65/€​​62) in the first quarter of 2022, marking a 15.1 percent growth compared to the same period of last year and totalling ₾1,446 ($495/€476).

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In the same quarter, Georgian businesses employed about 673,600 people, an 8.2 percent year-on-year increase. A majority (42.6 percent) worked in large businesses, while 37 percent were employed in small businesses and the remaining 20.5 percent in medium-size enterprises, the statistics office said.

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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili told the Parliament on Wednesday 15,000 applicants had already been employed as part of the launch of the new Government-initiated public employment programme that aims to offer jobs to up to 200,000 citizens eventually. 

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"Unemployment has dropped slightly. Thousands of jobs have been created [and] 35,000 applications have already been submitted. Half of the number are already employed, so we have created almost 15,000 new jobs in just two months. There are good expectations in the private sector [as well] and it needs to be maintained and strengthened", Garibashvili said, adding poverty had “also declined" in Georgia.