PMC Research

Employment Tracker (March, 2023)

The latest issue of Employment Tracker, produced in collaboration with Jobs.ge. The tracker produces valuable insights into the Georgian labor market as it lays out the trajectory of employment and salaries, most demanded job categories, and expectations of specific economic sectors regarding their employment plans.

Monthly Tourism Update (February, 2023)

In 2022, the number of outbound visits made by Georgian residents tripled compared to 2021 and reached 1.7 million, equating to 71% of the pre-pandemic figure.

Foreign Students and Foreign Language Programs Dynamics in Georgia

This bulletin overviews the dynamics of foreign students in Georgia and their financial contribution to the country’s education sector.

Georgian Economic Climate (Q1, 2023)

In this bulletin, which is based on the ifo Institute’s methodology, we discuss Georgia’s economic climate according to assessments made by various Georgian economists.

Ukrainian Refugees and their Effect on Labor Markets at Home and Abroad

The unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought economic and political turmoil to the world, taking numerous civilian lives as well. Since the war broke out, more than 8 million Ukrainians have been recorded as having emigrated across Europe, making it crucial to understand their impacts on the economy and in particular the labor market of host countries and Ukraine. Therefore, this bulletin overviews the dynamics of displacement from Ukraine and analyzes their current and potential economic and social impacts on Ukraine and host countries

Issue 3: Macro Overview

Macro Overview aims to review the recent trends and developments of the Georgian economy and sets the stage for what is to come in the approaching months. It highlights some of the key indicators in Georgian economy such as inflation, economic growth, and employment. It also explores external sector of the economy, overviewing trends in tourism, trade, remittances and FDI.

Ukraine’s Maritime Trade and Port Infrastructure

To portray the effects of the halting of operations at Ukrainian ports on both domestic and international markets, it is essential to analyze the significance of Ukraine’s maritime industry and its role in the country’s external trade, the Black Sea, and beyond.

Georgian Economic Climate (Q3, 2022)

According to a survey of Georgian economists, the economic climate in the country in the third quarter of 2022 has improved compared to both: the second quarter of 2022 and the third quarter of 2021.

Wheat And Flour Sector in Georgia

Since the spread of COVID-19 at the end of 2019, the ensuing pandemic has caused an economic crisis impacting global food availability and food security. The effects of the pandemic have been aggravated by the war between Russia and Ukraine, two prominent players in global food and agriculture.

The Roles of Russia and Ukraine in Georgia’s Food and Energy Security

PMC RC stands firmly with Ukraine, supports its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and condemns Russia’s ongoing military aggression. While the most devastating outcome of this war is the humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine and the destroyed lives of people, it is also essential to discuss the consequences of this war on the global economy.

We Stand with Ukraine

In these difficult times, we would like to express our support and solidarity to Ukrainian people, to our colleagues, consultants and partners currently in Ukraine. We condemn Russia’s military attack and aggression, which puts at risk countless civilian lives.

We have been supporting Ukraine to advance as a democratic country throughout the years and we are committed to continuing this work.

News

Supporting the Information and Communications Technology Sector

16-Mar-2023

On 23 February 2023, PMC Research organized the final event of the project “Piloting a New Public and Private Sector Collaboration Mechanism for VET Training Program Development.”

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A Roundtable Discussion of the Study of the Needs of Ukrainian Refugees in Georgia

01-Mar-2023

On February 21st, PMC Research held a roundtable discussion of the “Study of the Needs of Ukrainian Refugees in Georgia.” The study was carried out with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) and aimed to assess Ukrainian refugees' needs, education level, and skills, as well as the labor market integration processes they encounter in Georgia. The ultimate goal of the study was to produce recommendations for stakeholders to develop needs-based services and support Ukrainian refugees in their integration into the Georgian labor market.

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Presenting a Study of the Needs of Ukrainian Refugees in Georgia

08-Feb-2023

On February 3rd, PMC Research Center held a roundtable discussion of its Study of the Needs of Ukrainian Refugees in Georgia. The study was carried out with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) and aimed to assess Ukrainian refugees' needs, education, and skills, as well as the processes they undertake to integrate into the labor market in Georgia. The ultimate goal of the study was to produce recommendations for stakeholders to develop needs-based services and support Ukrainian refugees’ seeking employment in Georgia.

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Maritime Trade in the Black Sea in the Context of the Russo-Ukrainian War

01-Feb-2023

On January 27th, PMC Research Center presented the results and held a public discussion on its “Maritime Trade in the Black Sea in the Context of the Russo-Ukrainian War” study. The study was carried out with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) and aimed to assess the state and needs of maritime trade in the Black Sea amid the Russo-Ukrainian war and to produce respective policy recommendations.

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EU-supported Tourism and Food Industry Clusters Established in Oni Municipality

25-Jan-2023

In November and December of 2022, as part of the project “Economic Development of Oni Municipality via Business Clusters Creation and Investment Attraction” implemented under the European Union (EU) initiative “Mayors for Economic Growth,” tourism and food industry clusters were registered in Oni Municipality. In particular, the tourism cluster was founded by 18 enterprises including guesthouses, restaurants, crafts people, and tourism service providers. The tourism cluster has the following goals: Improving the attractiveness of Oni Municipality to tourists; Diversifying tourism services and offers; Supporting the development of sustainable tourism; Improving the tourism infrastructure; Enhancing human resources by developing knowledge and capacities; Improving access to finance; Improving access to inputs; Developing inter-sectoral linkages; and Providing information and services to cluster members. “The creation of a tourism cluster will support the realization of Oni Municipality’s potential in the fields of balneological and health, adventure, ethnocultural, gastronomy, and cultural tourism. This will positively affect the competitiveness of SMEs, support job creation, attract investments, and improve the social and economic conditions in the municipality,” said Manana Bolkvadze, manager of the tourism cluster. Meanwhile, the food industry cluster was founded by 15 enterprises, representing a variety of trades including beekeeping, cattle-breeding and fruit-growing. The food industry cluster has the following goals: Increasing the popularity and sales of food products produced in Oni Municipality; Improving labor force capacities; Supporting the development of bio enterprises; Improving access to finance; Improving local intersectoral linkages; and Providing information and services to cluster members. “Forming a food industry cluster is an important step in the acceleration of the sector’s development, as the cluster will support improvements with regard to SMEs’ competitiveness, job creation, and access to finance, while also stimulating the development of the innovative capacities of entrepreneurs and contributing the to economic prosperity of the Oni Municipality,” said Tengiz Akobia, manager of the food industry cluster.

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Periodic Issues

Employment Tracker (March, 2023)

23-Mar-2023

In February 2023, the number of persons receiving a monthly salary increased by 4.9% compared to the corresponding period of 2022 and by 11.6% compared to the corresponding period of 2021. From September 2022 to February 2023, the total number of vacancies published on jobs.ge amounted to 39,565, which was 20.4% higher compared to the corresponding period of 2021-2022. In February 2023, compared to January 2023, the total number of vacancies published on jobs.ge decreased by 3.5%. From September 2022 to February 2023, a total of 7,065 vacancies were published in the field of finance, statistics, which was 40.6% higher than the corresponding period of 2021-2022 and 192.5% higher compared to the corresponding period of 2020-2021.

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Monthly Tourism Update (February, 2023)

21-Mar-2023

In 2022, the number of outbound visits made by Georgian residents tripled compared to 2021 and reached 1.7 million, equating to 71% of the pre-pandemic figure. In 2022, a significant proportion of outbound visits were to Turkey (54%), followed by Russia (14%). Notably, the number of outbound visits to Russia exceeded the pre-pandemic figure by 49% with the highest quarterly increase (143%) coming in Q3 of 2022 compared to Q3 of 2019. The most popular purpose of outbound visits in 2022 was shopping, representing 41% of total visits, while this number was equal to 29% in 2019. The share of shopping also increased in total expenditure of outbound visitors, reaching GEL 759 million, marking a 16% increase compared to 2019.

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Hotel Price Index (February, 2023)

21-Mar-2023

In Georgia, the average cost of a room in a 3-star hotel was 140 GEL per night in February 2023, while the average cost of a room in a 4-star hotel in Georgia was 236 GEL per night and the average cost of a room in a guesthouse was 116 GEL per night. The average cost of a room in a 5-star hotel in Georgia in February 2023 was 392 GEL per night. In Kakheti, the average price was 562 GEL, followed by Tbilisi – 489, Samtskhe-Javakheti – 454, and Guria – 339.

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Issue 142: Foreign Students and Foreign Language Programs Dynamics in Georgia

15-Mar-2023

In recent years, the number of international students has been increasing worldwide, with their contributions to host countries’ economies growing accordingly, and Georgia is not an exception. As shown in PMC RC’s study, total expenses incurred by foreign students, their foreign relatives, and friends in Georgia in the 2020-2021 academic year exceeded US$132 million. Understanding the dynamics of foreign students and foreign language programs in Georgia is crucial to ensure further growth and investment in the education sector. Therefore, this bulletin overviews the dynamics of foreign students in Georgia and their financial contribution to the country’s education sector.

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Georgian Economic Climate (Q1, 2023)

13-Mar-2023

The main findings of the survey of Georgian economists conducted in the first quarter of 2023 are: The surveyed Georgian economists positively assess Georgia’s present economic situation. Though their predictions for Georgia’s economic situation for the next six months are negative. The surveyed Georgian economists’ prediction for real GDP growth for 2023, on average, is 5.5%. Almost 83% of the surveyed economists think that Russia’s war in Ukraine currently represents a high or very high threat to the Georgian economy. Meanwhile, a skills mismatch was assessed as a very high threat by nearly half of the surveyed economists (44%). One third of respondents (33%) think that the “GOG Vision 2030 - Development Strategy of Georgia” partially responds to the challenges and problems faced by Georgia but none of the respondents think that the strategy fully addresses them. Regarding the EU Commission’s analytical report on Georgia’s alignment with the EU acquis, the majority of surveyed economists (75%) think that introducing improvements with respect to the environment and climate change mitigation in line with the EU acquis will be challenging or very challenging.

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Policy Papers

Maritime Trade in the Black Sea in the Context of the Russo-Ukrainian War

01-Feb-2023

The Black Sea region is often referred to as a gateway between Europe and Asia, though its potential benefits are far from being fully realized. This is especially true for maritime trade - the Black Sea region’s share in international maritime trade is only just 2.5%, while the North Sea region accounts for 17%. And despite there being huge potential in the enhancement of port infrastructure and connectivity in the Black Sea region countries, the varying and distinctive geopolitical orientations of these countries largely hinder any significant advancement in regional cooperation. The problem became even more severe with the latest military conflict in the region – the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which besides aggravating cooperation problems has significantly shaken up the landscape of the Black Sea’s port infrastructure and maritime trade in the region and the security dynamics not only in the wider Black Sea region, but it has also affected the European and, arguably, global security architecture.

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The Diagnostic Study of the Light Manufacturing Cluster of Oni Municipality

18-Nov-2022

The Diagnostic Study of the Light Manufacturing Cluster of Oni Municipality was carried out within the framework of the project financed by the European Union’s initiative - "Mayors for Economic Growth", which is implemented by the Oni municipality Mayor's Office and PMC Research Center. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of PMC Research Center and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.

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The Diagnostic Study of the Primary and Processed Food Products Cluster of Oni Municipality

18-Nov-2022

The Diagnostic Study of the Primary and Processed Food Products Cluster of Oni Municipality was carried out within the framework of the project financed by the European Union’s initiative - "Mayors for Economic Growth", which is implemented by the Oni municipality Mayor's Office and PMC Research Center. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of PMC Research Center and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.

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The Diagnostic Study of the Construction Sector Cluster of Oni Municipality

18-Nov-2022

The Diagnostic Study of the Construction Sector Cluster of Oni Municipality was carried out within the framework of the project financed by the European Union’s initiative - "Mayors for Economic Growth", which is implemented by the Oni municipality Mayor's Office and PMC Research Center. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of PMC Research Center and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.

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The Diagnostic Study of the Tourism Sector Cluster of Oni Municipality

18-Nov-2022

The Diagnostic Study of the Tourism Sector Cluster of Oni Municipality was carried out within the framework of the project financed by the European Union’s initiative - "Mayors for Economic Growth", which is implemented by the Oni municipality Mayor's Office and PMC Research Center. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of PMC Research Center and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.

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