Sad picture in employment! It has fallen below the levels of the 1980s

The employment rate in Turkey has remained below 50 percent for 40 years. It has emerged that the employment rate in Turkey has fallen even below the levels of the 1980s. A graph shared by economist İnan Mutlu on his X (formerly Twitter) account shows that the employment rate has remained below 50 percent for many years during the 1988–2024 period.

According to the shared data, the employment rate was at 53.1 percent in 1988, but entered a gradual downward trend throughout the 1990s. A significant decline was experienced at the beginning of the 2000s. While the employment rate dropped to the 40 percent range between 2002 and 2007, it was pointed out that although this period is frequently described by the public as the "golden age of economic growth," its capacity to create employment remained weak.

Although a limited recovery is seen in the graph following the 2009 global crisis, the employment rate remained in the 45–47 percent band for a long time.

While a sharp decline was recorded again during the pandemic period in 2020, a partial increase has been observed in recent years. As of 2024, the employment rate was measured at 49.5 percent.

According to experts, the low employment rate points not only to the problem of unemployment but also to a large population that has become disconnected from production.

The fact that millions of people of working age, especially women and young people, remain outside the labor market brings up a structural problem regarding the fact that growth is not sufficiently reflected in employment. The data shared by İnan Mutlu reveals that the economic policies implemented in Turkey over the period approaching the last 40 years have remained limited in terms of creating employment despite growth performance.

News Source: 12punto