Unemployment rate was 13.9% in 2025
The unemployment rate reduced by 0.9ppts y/y to 13.3% in 4Q25, bringing the full-year 2025 figure to 13.9%, unchanged from the previous year. In 2025, the number of hired employed individuals increased marginally by 0.1% y/y to 961.1 thousand, accounting for 69.2% of total employment, while self-employed persons reduced by 3.4% y/y. Notably, the labor force participation rate declined by 0.3ppts to 54.5%, which may reflect a movement of some individuals from the labor force into inactivity.
Money transfers increased by 16.6% y/y in Jan-26
Money transfers increased by 16.6% y/y to US$ 282.6mn in Jan-26, following a 19.3% y/y growth in previous month. Among the top countries, inflows grew from the EU (+18.3% y/y, 47.2% of total), USA (+10.0% y/y, 18.4% of total), Russia (+31.6% y/y, 11.9% of total), Israel (+15.7% y/y, 8.7% of total) and Türkiye (+26.2% y/y, 3.4% of total).
We forecast money transfers at US$ 3.8bn in 2026.
Goods exports increased by 19.0% y/y in Jan-26
In Jan-26, goods exports increased by 19.0% y/y to US$ 480.4mn, following a 22.5% y/y rise in previous month. Goods imports fell by 33.7% y/y to US$ 1.1bn, mainly reflecting a high base in Jan-25 due to one-off US$ 481mn paintings imports (adjusting for this one-off effect, imports were down 7.7% y/y in Jan-26). As a result, the trade deficit narrowed by 50.1% y/y to US$ 649.1mn in Jan-26, after a 3.5% y/y rise in Dec-25.
The top 5 exported commodities were cars (-22.5% y/y), petroleum (+401.5% y/y), precious metals (+436.5% y/y), copper (+73.2% y/y) and spirits (+20.7% y/y) in Jan-26. A 16.1% of exports were directed to the EU (+45.4% y/y), 46.7% to the CIS (-13.4% y/y) and 37.2% to other countries (+95.3% y/y).
The top 5 imports were cars (-39.5% y/y), petroleum (-10.1% y/y), gases (+7.4% y/y), pharmaceuticals (-9.5% y/y) and bars and rods of iron (+117.8% y/y) in Jan-26.
Producer price index increased by 6.5% y/y in Jan-26 Annual PPI for industrial goods increased by 6.5% in Jan-26, after a 6.1% rise in the previous month. The annual growth was mainly driven by an increase in prices in the manufacturing (+4.7% y/y) and mining (+36.4% y/y) sectors.
