Summary 

Adjara differs from other regions of Georgia in the priority and perspective of economic activity. This article examines the statistical analysis of the sectoral structure of employment in the entrepreneurial sector of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara in the sectoral, gender and municipal context.

According to 2019 data, 158.1 thousand people are employed in Adjara, of which 74.8 thousand are employed in the business sector or 58.4% of those employed in the business sector, which is 5 units more than in the previous year. The distribution of employees by municipalities of Adjara shows that the level of employment in the business sector of the municipalities of Batumi, Kobuleti and Khelvachauri is quite high than in the mountainous municipalities, which is a result of active urbanization in Adjara. Jobs are mainly concentrated in cities with more enterprises. The level of urbanization and unemployment in Adjara is also high compared to other regions of Georgia, which is due to the fact that construction and tourism account for a large share in the economic structure of the region, which contributes to temporary rather than permanent employment.

The leading industrial sectors in Adjara during the Soviet period, such as oil refining, car manufacturing, were replaced by construction, trade, tourism, and services after the transition to a market economy. There is a transformation of the economy in terms of demand for labor resources. The service economy is developing rapidly in recent years.

Survey of Labor and Employment Statistics in Adjara showed that the share of employees in the business sector has increased by 42% since 2003.

According to the data of 2019, trade, industry, construction, hotels, restaurants and transport occupy a leading place among the types of economic activity in Adjara in terms of the number of employees, as well as the number of turnovers and manufactured products.

The ranking of economic activities by the number of employees is as follows (according to data for 2019): the majority of employees are employed in trade and car repair (21%), followed by manufacturing (16%) and construction (14%), transport. warehousing and placement and delivery of food (11%), the share of other activities is relatively low and fluctuates separately within the range of 0-5%.

One of the most important indicators of the use of labor in business is labor productivity, which determines the ability to produce products per unit of time. The tasks of labor productivity statistics are to determine the level of labor productivity, dynamics and factors affecting it.

We estimated the change in labor productivity in the 5 named areas using labor productivity indices. Labor productivity in 2019 in the business sector as a whole increased 2.64 times compared to 2010, in industry - 2.94 times, in hotels - restaurants - 2.53 times, in construction - 2.03 times , in trade - by 1.96 times and in transport - by 1.59 times.

Thus, the level of labor productivity increased the most in the construction and manufacturing industries, which is due to the fact that these industries account for a large share of capital investments per worker. The largest subsector of industry in Adjara is the processing industry, leading in the production of food products (including beverages) and tobacco, the production of building materials and other non-metallic mineral products, the production of textiles and textile products. It should be noted that the export potential of these sectors is quite high, so we consider it necessary to increase investments to expand these sectors.

With regard to the wages of workers in these sectors, the wages of workers in the construction and industrial sectors are higher than those of workers in the trade and services.

A study of the dynamics of employment and the share of GDP in various sectors of the business sector showed that in some sectors there is an incorrect distribution of factors of production or jobs are identified in sectors with low productivity, while in sectors with high productivity few jobs are created or these jobs are insufficient. to increase employment.

The level of employment in the business sector of the mountainous municipalities of Adjara is rather low compared to other municipalities (Batumi, Khelvachauri, Kobuleti), where most of the enterprises are concentrated. In the highlands, they are mainly engaged in agriculture.

The economic crisis caused by the coronavirus has shown that local production is of great importance. Therefore, it is very important to focus on the development of the subsectors that have the greatest potential in Adjara, be it agriculture or manufacturing. Within the framework of the available limited resources, it is possible to develop priority and promising business areas. We believe that with the help of local resources, support for start-up programs and grant projects for small and medium-sized enterprises, financial support from the state and donor organizations, the encouragement of innovative ideas, it is possible to contribute to the development and productivity of local businesses.