Economist Giorgi Khishtovani says Georgia’s labor market is showing signs of stagnation, with few new jobs being created and wage growth slowing significantly. According to Geostat’s second-quarter data, nominal wages increased by 8%, while real wages rose by only 2% after accounting for inflation.
Khishtovani said the slowdown in real wage growth reflects weaker conditions in the broader economy. He noted that real wages grew by 17% in 2023 and 10% in 2024, compared with around 2% in the second quarter of 2026. While higher inflation contributed to the slowdown, he argued that limited job creation has also reduced pressure on employers to raise wages.
The economist said headline economic growth should not obscure weaker performance in sectors with a major impact on employment. He pointed to construction, manufacturing and agriculture, saying these sectors are either growing slowly or not expanding, while faster-growing sectors have a more limited effect on employment.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s unemployment rate fell by 0.5 percentage points to 13.8% in the second quarter, but the decline was not accompanied by higher employment. The employment rate fell by 0.1%, the labor force shrank by 0.6%, and the population outside the labor force increased by 2.6%. Analysts have linked the decline in unemployment partly to the shrinking labor force rather than to the creation of new jobs.
