Georgia’s annual comparative labour scorecard against Armenia and Azerbaijan shows a mixed regional picture — with each country leading in different areas.
The GILS South Caucasus Labour Comparative Scorecard assesses Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan across 14 labour market indicators grouped in five categories: employment and unemployment, wages and income, legal framework quality, social dialogue, and international integration. The 2024 edition — based on data from national statistical offices, ILO ILOSTAT, and World Bank databases — provides the first systematic annual comparative assessment of labour conditions across the three South Caucasus countries.
On employment and unemployment, Georgia leads the region on headline unemployment (13.3 percent versus Armenia’s 13.6 percent and Azerbaijan’s 5.2 percent, though Azerbaijan’s figure is methodologically contested by ILO statisticians). Georgia’s employment rate of 47.1 percent is the lowest of the three — reflecting the high informality in Georgian agriculture and the low female participation rate — while Azerbaijan’s officially reported employment rate of 67 percent is significantly higher, though it encompasses a large public sector and a state-dominated oil economy that limit direct comparability.
On wages and income, Georgia has the highest average monthly wage in the region at GEL 2,364 (approximately USD 860), above Armenia’s equivalent of approximately USD 620 and Azerbaijan’s USD 530. Real wage growth in Georgia over the 2018–2024 period of 28 percent is comparable to Armenia (31 percent) and significantly above Azerbaijan (18 percent), suggesting that Georgia’s wage level advantage is not primarily driven by recent cyclical factors. Georgia’s minimum wage, at GEL 20, is the lowest in the region in absolute terms and as a percentage of average earnings — Azerbaijan’s AZN 300 minimum (approximately USD 175) represents a higher floor, though still inadequate by ILO benchmarks.
On legal framework quality, Georgia scores highest in the region on the GILS Labour Rights Index (5.7) compared to Armenia (5.1) and Azerbaijan (4.3). Georgia’s Labour Code has been subject to more EU-driven reform than those of its neighbours, and its OSH and anti-discrimination provisions are more comprehensive. Azerbaijan’s lower score reflects restrictions on independent trade union activity and limited enforcement of employment standards in state-dominated sectors.
On social dialogue, all three countries score poorly by international comparison — but for different reasons. Georgia’s weakness is institutional: the Tripartite Commission lacks binding authority and the collective bargaining system is nearly non-functional. Armenia’s weakness is structural: trade union density is slightly higher than Georgia’s, but the employer landscape is fragmented and there is no functioning system of sectoral bargaining. Azerbaijan’s weakness is political: independent trade unionism is constrained, and the national trade union confederation operates primarily as a complement to government economic policy rather than an independent social partner.
GILS Position: The South Caucasus Scorecard reveals a region in which all three countries have significant labour market development agendas outstanding — but where Georgia’s EU integration trajectory gives it both the greatest external pressure and the greatest institutional support to make progress. The comparative data suggests that Georgia’s primary competitive labour market advantage is in legal framework quality; its primary gap relative to European standards is in social dialogue and employment rate.
Read the full GILS analysis: https://labour.edu.ge/south-caucasus-labour-scorecard/