On November 16, Mr. Mikheil Janelidze, Senior Consultant in Foreign Trade Policy at PMCG, virtually opened the Central Asia Trade Forum (CATF) promoting regional trade and connectivity. The annual event, which is being held for the tenth time, runs until November 20. This event is being hosted by the USAID-funded 5-year program “Competitive Trade and Jobs (CTJ) in Central Asia," which is led by DAI Global.
In general, the CATF aims to increase the competitiveness of priority industries and to enhance trade within Central Asia, between Central and South Asia as well as between Central Asia and other foreign markets. This year, the forum, comprising live interactive panel sessions and webinars, is focused on exploring new trends and market reactions in Central Asia during the post-COVID-19 economic recovery.
Opening the event, Mr. Janelidze highlighted the recent developments in Central Asian countries in terms of trade as well as regional integration, stating: “it is great to see that the governments in Central Asia are making important steps towards global and regional integration. This is well-reflected in their active cooperation with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and regional partnerships such as the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program (CAREC), the C5+1 talks with the United States, and dialogue with Japan. Moving towards the creation of an open, transparent and seamless Central Asian market will make the region more attractive to foreign businesses, capital and technology, allowing for greater diversification of economic sectors and raising the competitiveness of the whole region.” He also shared the Georgian experience in this context.
Mr. Janelidze opened the forum that brought together 100 speakers, including global experts, innovators and dynamic businesspeople, and 4000 registered participants representing 39 countries, along with Mr. William Moser, the US Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Mr. William Tompson, the Head of the Eurasia Division in the OECD, Mr. Azamat Askaruly, Vice-Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Mr. Laziz Kudratov, the First Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
“We are glad to participate in the CATF, a forum that includes global society, government leaders, international field experts, and representatives of business organizations, to discuss and explore ways to develop regional trade connectivity. PMCG has once again been given a chance to participate in the CATF, which has more than ever proven itself as a significant actor in the development of Central Asian countries’ economies. Considering the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the well-being of the region, the forum discussions are highly relevant and effective,” said Mr. Aleksi Aleksishvili, Chairman and CEO at PMCG.
Follow the link to join the forum, which is available across multiple online platforms, including Zoom, Facebook Live and YouTube: https://catradeforum.org/
Please kindly follow the link below for detailed information about the project: Competitive Trade and Jobs (CTJ) Activity in Central Asia
On September 9, we presented the findings of the research entitled “Investment and Export Promotion via Diagonal Cumulation between Georgia, Türkiye, and the European Union” at a forum organized by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia with the support of the USAID Economic Security Program, the EU, and GIZ.
We recently started working on a new project entitled “Communal Infrastructure for Environment and Tourism Improvement - Lot 2: Accompanying Measures,” aimed at improving the living conditions of people in four Georgian municipalities (Baghdati, Vani, Samtredia, and Kazbegi) through improving the supply of hygienically-sound drinking water and environmentally-safe sanitation infrastructure.
We recently completed a project entitled “Executive Roundtable (ERT) Session on Non-Profit Budgeting Process,” carried out by the USAID HICD Activity and implemented by the Kaizen, Tetra Tech company, aiming to facilitate collaboration, collective learning, and organizational development in the non-profit budgeting process with a cohort of selected organizations, including the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), the Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP), and the Georgian Association of Social Workers (GASW).
On September 19-23, the International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management (ICGFM) is hosting the 2022 International Conference at the University Club of Washington DC, offering the first opportunity in over two years for the global PFM community to gather in-person to network and connect with leading professionals and colleagues from across the world, in a unique and distinguished setting.
On July 28, PMCG supported a workshop organized by the EU and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia as part of the project “Support to Environmental Protection and Fight Against Climate Change in Georgia.”
In February 2026, the number of persons receiving a salary increased by 10.6% month-over-month and by 3.6% year-over-year. In February 2026, vacancies published on Jobs.ge decreased by 0.5% month-over-month but increased by 14.2% year-over-year. From December 2025 to February 2026, the sales and procurement category contributed the most to the year-over-year increase in vacancies.
In January 2026, the number of salaried employees increased by 2.8% year-over-year and reached 904,967. In January 2026, vacancies published on jobs.ge increased by 4.6% year-over-year. Within this, sales and procurement vacancies increased by 13.4% year-over-year, while IT and programming vacancies decreased by 1.2%. In Q4 2025, compared to Q3 2025, the efficiency of the labor market slightly improved, as the seasonally adjusted job opening rate marginally rose and the unemployment rate decreased.
The Business Association of Georgia (BAG) Index is a joint product of the Business Association of Georgia, PMC Research Center, and the ifo Institute for Economic Research. The BAG Index summarizes the BAG Business Climate, BAG Employment Barometer, and BAG Investment Environment, which are calculated according to the assessments of the top managers of BAG member businesses and companies in their corporate group. BAG and PMC Research Center publish the BAG Index on a quarterly basis from Q4 2019.
In January 2026, hotel price index in Georgia decreased by 0.8% MoM, with the largest decrease observed in Tbilisi, Samtskhe-Javakheti and Racha compared to previous month. In January 2026, hotel price index in Georgia increased by 8.9% YoY, with the largest increase in Samtskhe-Javakheti, Shida Kartli, and Adjara. The average price of a room ranged from 107 GEL to 416 GEL in January 2026.
In December 2025, the number of people receiving a monthly salary increased both month-over-month (+2.8%) and year-over-year (+4.3%). In December 2025, the total number of persons receiving a service fee increased compared to corresponding periods of 2024 (+11.3%) and 2023 (+10.0%). From October to December 2025, the finance and statistics category contributed the most to the increase in vacancies on jobs.ge compared to the same period in the previous year.
The hotel price index increased for 3-, 4-, 5-star hotels and decreased for guesthouses, both on a MoM and YoY basis. In December 2025, hotel price index in Georgia increased by 4.3% MoM, with the largest increase in Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Tbilisi. In December 2025, hotel price index in Georgia increased by 3.9% YoY, with the largest increase in Samtskhe-Javakheti, Tbilisi, and Adjara.
In November 2025, the number of persons receiving a salary decreased by 0.8% month-over-month and by 1.0% year-over-year. In November 2025, vacancies published on Jobs.ge decreased by 14.9% month-over-month, but increased by 5.0% year-over-year due to a low base effect. From September to November 2025, the category that contributed the most to the year-over-year increase in vacancies was finance and statistics.
In November 2025, hotel price index in Georgia decreased by 5.9% month-over-month (MoM), with the largest declines in Guria, Tbilisi, and Samtskhe-Javakheti. In November 2025, hotel price index in Georgia decreased by 4.2% year-over-year (YoY), with the largest declines in Imereti, Kakheti, and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. The average price of a room ranged from 101 GEL to 390 GEL in November 2025.
In October 2025, the number of persons receiving a salary increased by 1.9% month-over-month and by 2.6% year-over-year. In October 2025, vacancies published on Jobs.ge decreased month-over-month by 12.2% and by 2.1% year-over-year. The number of vacancies in IT and programming category increased the most both year-over-year (+54.8%) and month-over-month (+5.0%) in October 2025. In Q3 2025, compared to Q2 2025, labor market expanded, as seasonally adjusted job opening rate increased and unemployment rate decreased, while labor market efficiency remained unchanged.
From January to October 2025, Georgia’s economy grew by 7.6%. While YoY growth was robust, it was still below the previous year’s pace. Key growth contributors were the ICT and education sectors, accounting for 22.8% and 12.8% of growth, respectively. Services exports and other external inflows supported economic activity, with total FDI increasing by 11.0% YoY and tourism revenues rising by 5.1% YoY.