Alarm bells ringing in the economy: Poverty line nears 119 thousand TL

The Office Workers' Union Research Center (BES-AR) has shared the latest figures regarding the poverty line and hunger threshold for a family of four civil servants under current economic conditions, based on data from the June 2026 period.

The released data revealed that a family of four civil servants needs to spend 48 thousand 43 TL per month to eat in a healthy and balanced manner. In addition, the cost of living for a single employee has reached the level of 77 thousand 197 TL.

The poverty line was determined by taking into account non-food expenditures. Accordingly, the poverty line for families, including essential expenses such as clothing, housing (rent), electricity, water, fuel, transportation, education, and health, has risen to 119 thousand 344 TL.

Public employees living in metropolitan areas are finding their incomes most insufficient. In its assessments, BES-AR reported that public employees in large cities, in particular, are forced to spend 75 to 80 percent of their salaries on rent, which forces them into living with roommates or in crowded housing models.

The union's statement included the following: “In metropolitan areas, public employees are forced to pay almost 75-80 percent of their salaries for rent to meet their housing needs. In large cities, public employees are forced to live together in groups of 3 or 5, similar to student housing, to meet their housing needs. As the Office Workers' Union, we insist on our demand for a wage that allows all public employees, minimum wage earners, and retirees to live humanely.”