The tables have turned in the Unemployment Fund: Employer incentives have surpassed unemployment benefits

The weight of employer incentives has increased in the resource utilization of the Unemployment Insurance Fund, which was established to provide income security to employees who become unemployed. According to an assessment by the DİSK Research Center (DİSK-AR) covering the period from 2016 to the first seven months of 2026, while the share of unemployment benefits within fund expenditures has decreased, the share of direct and indirect support for employers has risen.

According to the report, in 2016, the share of unemployment insurance payments within fund expenditures was 37.4 percent, while the share of employer incentives and support was 20.3 percent. In the January-July 2026 period, this picture changed; the share of payments made to the unemployed fell to 31 percent, while the share of employer incentives rose to 44.3 percent.

Data regarding the last three-and-a-half-year period also revealed the direction of expenditures made from the fund. It was stated that between 2023 and July 2026, 390.2 billion liras of the total 756 billion liras in fund expenditures were transferred to employers, while unemployment insurance payments remained at 215.6 billion liras.

ACCESS FOR THE UNEMPLOYED REMAINS LIMITED

While the share of employer support within fund resources has increased, the rate of those who can benefit from unemployment benefits has remained limited. According to June 2026 data, there are 2 million 688 thousand official unemployed persons in Turkey, of whom 460 thousand 501 were able to receive unemployment benefits. According to this calculation, only 17.1 percent of the officially unemployed were able to receive benefits from the fund, while 82.9 percent could not benefit from this support.

The way in which the Unemployment Insurance Fund's savings are evaluated was also among the topics criticized in the report. It was noted that a significant portion of the fund's 817.3 billion lira resource is held in government bonds and money market instruments. DİSK-AR expressed the view that this structure turns the fund into a resource used for public domestic borrowing beyond being a security tool for the unemployed.

In the system that came into effect in 1999, the fund is financed by worker, employer, and state premiums. However, due to the conditions required to qualify for unemployment benefits, a significant portion of employees who become unemployed cannot receive regular income support from the fund. The debate centers on the question of whether the primary purpose of the fund is the protection of the unemployed or the financing of employment and employer support.

News Source: 12punto