In this bulletin, we overview the infrastructural losses Ukraine has suffered from the war so far, the plan for rebuilding the country’s trade infrastructure, the dynamics of Ukraine’s international trade, the facilitation of exports, and the strengthening of the country’s economic resilience with the assistance of external actors.

The main findings of the survey of Georgian economists conducted in the second quarter of 2023 are: Georgian economists have a positive assessment of Georgia’s present economic situation. Though their predictions for Georgia’s economic situation for the next six months are negative. 63% of the surveyed economists think that Russia’s war on Ukraine as well as labor market problems like skills mismatch and labor shortage (lack of qualified personnel) currently represent a high or very high threat to the Georgian economy. More than one year since Russia launched its war on Ukraine, nearly half (47%) of the surveyed economists claimed they are uncertain about how to assess the overall impact of the war on the Georgian economy. Almost 90% of the economists agree with the decision of National Bank of Georgia (announced on 10 May, 2023) to loosen its monetary policy and decrease the policy rate by 0.5 percentage points from 11% to 10.5%.

In May 2023, the number of persons receiving a monthly salary increased by 7.0% compared to the corresponding period of 2022. In May 2023, the share of persons receiving a monthly salary of 2,400 GEL and more amounted to 21.3%, which was 4.7 percentage points more compared to the corresponding period of 2022. From December 2022 to May 2023, the total number of vacancies published on jobs.ge amounted to 39,630, which was 17.6% higher compared to the corresponding period of 2021- 2022. From December 2022 to May 2023, a total of 10,495 vacancies were published in sales, procurement, which was 11.2% higher compared to the corresponding period of 2021-2022.

The Business Association of Georgia (BAG) Index is a joint product of the Business Association of Georgia, PMC Research 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. In Q2 of 2023, additional questions were integrated into the questionnaire to assess the effect of the removal of some industries from the list of sectors with specific operating conditions on businesses. BAG and PMC Research publish the BAG Index on a quarterly basis from Q4 2019. For the previous reports of the BAG Index, please, visit the following link: https://bag.ge/ge/bag-index  

In Georgia, the average cost of a room in a 3-star hotel was 166 GEL per night in May 2023, while the average cost of a room in a 4-star hotel in Georgia was 270 GEL per night and the average cost of a room in a guesthouse was 124 GEL per night. The average cost of a room in a 5-star hotel in Georgia in May 2023 was 409 GEL per night. In Guria, the average price was 584 GEL, followed by Tbilisi – 515 GEL, Kakheti – 354 GEL, and Adjara – 369 GEL.

In Q1 of 2023, 1.05 million passengers were transported by airline companies in Georgia, which is 3.3% higher compared to the corresponding pre-pandemic (Q1 of 2019) figure. Despite significant YoY growth, the number of passengers traveling to and from Tbilisi airport did not fully recover to pre-pandemic levels (-11% compared to Q1 of 2019), while the number of passengers traveling through Kutaisi and Batumi airports exceeded pre-pandemic numbers significantly. Throughout the winter season of 2022-2023, regular flights to and from Georgian airports were provided by 41 airlines on 61 routes. The average number of flights per week over this period was 390, which is 6% lower compared to the scheduled weekly flights for the winter season of 2018-2019. In the summer season of 2023, the number of airlines is expected to rise to 43, while the number of routes is expected to increase to 88. The average number of weekly flights will reach 555, which is 42.3% higher compared to the previous season, and 5.9% lower compared to the number of scheduled flights in the summer season of 2019.

Since mid-2020, when stringent restrictions were imposed to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation has been running at multi-decade highs in many countries across the globe. In 2022 in particular, inflationary pressures from pandemic-related disruptions were exacerbated by the Russo-Ukrainian War and spiking food and energy prices. In response, central banks implemented different monetary policy approaches in an attempt to stabilize the situation. Against this background, recent inflationary trends and monetary policy approaches adopted by economically diverse Black Sea countries are analyzed and compared in this issue of Black Sea bulletin.

In April 2023, the number of persons receiving a monthly salary increased by 3.7% compared to the corresponding period of 2022. In April 2023, the share of persons receiving a monthly salary of 2,400 GEL and more amounted to 21.8%, which was 5.7 percentage points more compared to the corresponding period of 2022. From November 2022 to April 2023, the total number of vacancies published on jobs.ge amounted to 38,330, which was 18.7% higher compared to the corresponding period of 2021- 2022.

Notwithstanding the recent positive tendencies, considerable challenges persist in the Georgian labor market. In this bulletin, we address several of these pressing concerns and provide a comprehensive overview of the labor market including: Labor market key indicators The Beveridge curve analysis Employment by economic sectors and employed foreign nationals Salaries of paid employees Vacancies published on Jobs.ge

In Q1 of 2023, the number of international visits to Georgia reached a total of 1.1 million, which amounts to 79.9% of the corresponding quarter of 2019 (i.e. the pre-pandemic level). In Q1 of 2023, Russia was the biggest source country of visitors to Georgia, amounting to 256,787 visits (exceeding the pre-pandemic level by 1.1%). In Q1 of 2023 the income from international travel reached USD 795.4 million, which is 38% higher compared to the pre-pandemic number. In terms of nationality, the income from Russian travelers was the highest in Q1 of 2023 and amounted to USD 266.4 million - 29% higher than in Q1 of 2019. Notably, according to the National Bank of Georgia, as of 31 March 2023, 35.5% of Russian citizens, 23.7% of Ukrainian citizens, and 44% of Belarusian citizens residing in Georgia were estimated to have been living in the country for one year or intending to stay for more than one year, and their expenditure is not included in the calculations of income from travel.