DİSK-AR: Turkey's full-time employment rate just over 30 percent

Photo: AA/File

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) released the 2021 Labor Force Statistics yesterday (March 23). According to the TurkStat figures, the number of employed persons increased by 2.1 million in 2021 from the previous year and the employment rate stood at 45.2 percent in the last year.

However, according to an alternative calculation by the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions of Turkey Research Center (DİSK-AR), the "full-time registered employment rate" was only 30.2 percent.

Among the 63.7 million citizens of the working age, only 19.7 million are employed full-time and formally, according to DİSK-AR.

"Employment data alone does not provide information on the nature of employment. Therefore, alternative employment calculations are needed," said the research center.

"Unemployment and employment data form a whole. Just looking at unemployment is not enough to fully understand the developments in the labor market.

"As it is known, TurkStat regularly announces the number and rates of employment. However, it is seen that the announced employment rates are far from giving sufficient information about the nature of employment."

Also, DİSK-AR pointed out that the number of unemployed persons rose by 1.4 million compared to 2019, before the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

The broad youth unemployment rate was 43 percent and the broad unemployment rate among young women was 54 percent in 2021, according to the DİSK-AR findings. (VK)