One of Turkey’s biggest problem is youth unemployment, recent surveys reveal. According Turkstat data, 2.3 million of the youth population between the ages of 15-34 cannot find jobs. Along with the coronavirus epidemic, salaries and employment are among the issues that young people are most concerned about. According to the OECD data, Turkey comes first with 26 percent, among 48 countries, in the “not-student and also unemployed young population” ratio. OECD adds that 35 percent of youth between the ages of 15-29 work in low-paying positions.
Unemployment rate decreases, but households don’t feel it
Border unemployment aggregates increasing in Turkey. Turkstat Unemployment Rate decreased in March-April survey, but households do not feel it. According to the recently released data unemployment in Turkey declined in March, when the effects of the outbreak was felt limited. According to the data shared by TURKSTAT, unemployment fell by one decimal point to 3.9 million compared to the same month last year.
2.3 million young unemployed
The youth unemployment trend has maintained its high level in the population between the ages of 15-34, compared to June 2020, with 2 million 317 thousand people. The number of youth unemployed in this age group is larger than the population of many big cities. Due to the sharp decline in the participation rate in the workforce, the number of people who were not regarded as unemployed but only out of labor force reached a record level with 11 million 636 thousand. During the economic crisis, which started with March financial instability and became evident across the economy in April 2018, the number of young employees aged 15-34 decreased by 1 million 730 thousand.
The highest unemployment rate observed among high school graduates
The highest unemployment rate was 19.9 percent among high school and equivalent school graduates. The highest number of unemployed people between the ages of 15-34 is 963 thousand who have only primary and lower education levels.
They don’t bother to look for jobs
According to the report, during the economic crisis, which became evident since April 2018, the number of unemployed university graduates aged 15-34 increased by 73 thousand, and the number of those who did not seek employment for various reasons increased by 413 thousand. In addition to the unemployed in the 15-34 age group, 11 million 636 thousand young people are not even included in the workforce; thus not considered “unemployed”. Only 42.0 percent of nearly 24 million young people in this age group work; in other words, every young employee seems to have at least one more economic responsibility. In addition to the unemployed 707 thousand university graduates, 1 million 272 thousand university graduates are not even in the workforce; they are not considered unemployed and remain economically idle. This number is at a record level.
32 percent cannot contribute to the economy
While the proportion of university graduates in the 15-34 age group workforce has increased steadily, reaching 34.2 percent, the number of unemployed (707 thousand) university students remained at a high level. The number of university students (1 million 272 thousand) who are out of the labor force broke a record. University graduates comprise 23.2 percent of the employable population in the 15-34 age group, 34.8 percent of the workforce, the population willing to work, and 34.2 percent of the employees. The number of young people in the 15-29 age group who have not received education or worked in any way has reached 5 million 687 thousand. This number equals to the entire population of some European countries such as Slovakia, Finland and Norway. In brief, 32.0 percent of the youth cannot contribute to economic activities and at the same time cannot improve themselves through education or internship.
This much for Turkey’s young population contributing to faster growth!
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