BAG Index: The business climate indicator is at its highest level since 2019

The Business Association of Georgia is publishing the results of the third quarter of the BAG Index, according to which the business climate indicator reached a historical maximum since 2019 and amounted to 48.4 points.

According to the Business Association of Georgia, among the sectors, the highest business climate indicator was recorded in the construction and services sectors, where the current state of business was also assessed most positively.

“The surveyed companies also have positive expectations with regard to employment. The employment barometer amounted to 32.9 points, which is an improved indicator compared to the previous quarter. Also noteworthy are the companies’ plans related to the remuneration of employees; in particular, 30% of those surveyed forecast an increase in salaries in the fourth quarter.

In the III quarter of 2026 the main challenges for business continue to be the shortage of specialists and legal and administrative barriers. It is noteworthy that compared to the previous quarter, the problem of labour shortage also worsened by 6 percentage points.

It is noteworthy that according to the sectors, all three of the above-mentioned factors represent a problem most of all for the construction sector.

At the same time, in the third quarter 50% of the surveyed companies spoke about factors hindering business activity. This indicator is reduced by 7 percentage points compared to the previous quarter.

Within the framework of the research, as in the I quarter, in the reporting quarter as well the companies’ investment plans for 2026 were assessed. 68% of those surveyed plan to increase the total investment volume in 2026, which will mostly be directed toward the purchase of equipment and software/databases,” the Business Association of Georgia states.

For information, the BAG Index is based on the assessments of the members of the Business Association of Georgia and the companies belonging to their group, which the Business Association of Georgia and the PMC Research Center produce on the basis of the methodology of the German ifo Institute for Economic Research.