Persons in employment whose household income falls below the poverty threshold — measuring whether work pays enough to escape poverty. Data from Geostat Labour Force Survey and ILOSTAT. Updated quarterly.
| Indicator / Segment | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| National poverty line (2024) | GEL 253/month per capita | Geostat national poverty line |
| Working poor (below poverty line) | ~24% of employed | Geostat 2024 Welfare Monitoring |
| Extreme working poor (below food poverty) | ~8% of employed | Geostat 2024 |
| Rural working poor | ~38% of rural employed | Agriculture-driven |
| Urban working poor (ex-Tbilisi) | ~19% of employed | Regional cities |
| Tbilisi working poor | ~9% of employed | Formal economy buffered |
Source: Geostat Labour Force Survey; ILOSTAT. All figures refer to latest available period unless stated.
Working poverty in Georgia is driven by three structural factors: the large informal agricultural sector (where earnings are non-monetary or very low in cash), the absence of a meaningful minimum wage, and the inadequacy of social transfers for working-age adults. The GEL 20 nominal minimum wage is economically irrelevant, leaving the market to set the floor — which in agriculture and domestic work is well below subsistence. See Living Wage Tool → and Informal Economy →
Living Wage Georgia → · Salary Checker Georgia → · Informal Economy Georgia → · Law Employment Assistance →
Georgia's working poverty rate — defined as employed persons living in households below 60% of median income — stands at approximately 21.3% (World Bank 2023 estimate, using GEL 595 poverty threshold). This means one in five employed Georgians is in poverty despite working. Working poverty is not a paradox: it is the direct result of low wages in agriculture and subsistence self-employment, combined with the absence of a meaningful minimum wage floor.
Agricultural subsistence employment is the dominant driver. Geostat classifies approximately 360,000 people as "self-employed in agriculture" — effectively subsistence farmers earning GEL 100-200/month equivalent. These workers count as employed in official statistics but are income-poor. Removing them from the calculation would dramatically change Georgia's "employment" and "working poverty" picture.
Working poverty in Georgia will not be solved by employment creation alone — many working poor Georgians already have employment. The solution requires three simultaneous interventions: (1) a meaningful minimum wage that provides a real floor; (2) an in-work benefit that ensures formal work always pays more than inactivity; (3) agricultural transformation that moves subsistence farmers into productive, income-generating employment or enterprise. GILS considers the GEL 20 minimum wage the single most egregious failure of Georgian labour policy — it has been unchanged for 25 years and provides no real protection to any worker.
Current GEL 20 minimum wage provides zero real protection. Set GEL 500 from January 2025; GEL 650 from January 2026; GEL 750 from January 2027 — indexed to annual subsistence minimum review. Tripartite Low Pay Commission advises on levels. Impact: direct protection for estimated 180,000 formal workers currently below GEL 500/month. Net cost to employers: modest (most already pay above floor; floor removes floor-racing in low-margin sectors).
Germany (min wage commission + phased increase) · UK (National Living Wage) · Poland (minimum wage doubling 2020-2023)TSA recipients who take formal employment lose benefits sharply — removing the incentive to formalise. Introduce earnings disregard: first GEL 300 of formal earnings excluded from TSA means test for 24 months; above GEL 300, 50p taper (GEL 0.50 TSA reduction per GEL 1.00 earnings above threshold). Eliminates poverty trap. Cost: GEL 45M/year — offset by reduced long-run TSA dependency.
UK (Working Tax Credit) · Germany (Freibetrag ALG II) · Estonia (in-work benefit)360,000 subsistence farmers below poverty threshold despite being classified as employed. Introduce Agricultural Minimum Income Guarantee (AMIG): GEL 300/month for registered small farmers (holding <5 ha, no other formal income). Conditional on: farm registration with MoA, agricultural activity declaration, ESDC registration for non-farm work offers. Cost: GEL 650M/year — requires EU ENPARD co-finance negotiation.
France (RSA — guaranteed minimum income) · Portugal (RSI) · Georgia EU ENPARD rural development fundsHospitality and retail are the largest private sector working poverty concentrations. Establish sector-specific living wage: GEL 700/month for hospitality (hotels, restaurants, tourism services) and GEL 750/month for retail. Enforced by LIS. Employers above threshold receive 'Living Wage Employer' GILS certification. Target: 60,000 workers lifted above poverty threshold.
UK Living Wage Foundation (sector campaigns) · South Africa (hospitality sectoral determination) · Georgia LIS enforcement capacity42% of children in poverty have an employed parent. Introduce an employment premium on TSA child supplement: families with employed adults receive GEL 100/child/month supplement above standard TSA child rate (GEL 50), making total child supplement GEL 150/month. This incentivises formal employment for TSA families with children and directly reduces child poverty.
UK (Working Tax Credit child element) · Poland (Family 500+ programme) · Hungary (family benefit for employed parents)| ILO Convention | Subject | Ratified | Compliance | Key Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C131 | Minimum Wage Fixing | Not ratified | n/a | GEL 20 minimum wage — effectively zero; no consultation mechanism |
| C102 | Social Security (Minimum Standards) | Not ratified | n/a | No unemployment insurance; TSA below subsistence minimum |
| C117 | Social Policy (Basic Aims and Standards) | Not ratified | n/a | No national social policy framework with minimum standards |