Minister reports historic job growth amid export drop

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia’s Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan stated that foreign trade turnover grew significantly in 2024. He made the remarks during the preliminary discussion of the 2024 state budget execution in the National Assembly, citing relevant statistical data.

Although export volumes dropped by 57% in the first 4–5 months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, the Armenian economy still recorded a 5.2% growth, Papoyan said, according to 1lurer.am.

“In 2023, exports totaled 8.5 billion drams, or 6.8 billion excluding gold. In 2024, exports reached 13.1 billion, and 7.5 billion without gold. So if we exclude gold, 6.8 billion became 7.526 billion,” he explained.

“This is the indicator I personally use to measure performance—not the growth from 8.5 to 13 billion and being proud of the increase,” he added, noting that neither export increases nor declines tend to have a large effect on the economy.

Papoyan also spoke about imports, noting that in 2024, imports totaled more than $17 billion, or slightly over $11.1 billion excluding gold.

Turning to the labor market, the minister said monthly employment figures continue to set new records, which he described as historic.

“In terms of the number of jobs, we’re essentially seeing historic records—and that’s already a fact,” he stated.