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5 clusters · 19 sources · 16 days · First seen · Last updated

Turkish labor market trends and shortages

Overview

Turkey continues to face a significant shortage of skilled workers and apprentices across the tourism, industrial, and construction sectors, even as employers offer high wages. In the Artvin Şavşat Karagöl region, tourism operators have reported being unable to find experienced chefs despite offering monthly salaries of 100,000 TL. Business owners suggest the issue is not unemployment, but rather a problem of job selection, as workers become increasingly selective regarding work conditions.

The industrial and craft sectors face similar challenges. In the 4. Levent Otosanayi Sitesi, workshops are struggling to recruit apprentices, with some employers offering monthly salaries of 40,000 TL or weekly payments of 10,000 TL without receiving applicants. Industry officials have expressed concern that this lack of new apprentices will prevent the next generation of masters and journeymen from emerging, potentially leading to the decline of these trades.

This shortage has extended severely into the construction sector, driven by rapid urban transformation and reconstruction in earthquake-affected regions. Specialized trades such as plasterers, tilers, and formwork masters are reportedly earning up to 177,000 TL per month, with daily wages reaching between 6,000 and 7,000 TL when including overtime. In Muğla, this has created a significant imbalance where master tradespeople earn far more than entry-level engineers.

The average age of skilled construction workers has risen to approximately 50. This generational gap, caused by young people avoiding physically demanding labor in favor of office-based or service industry roles, is leading to project delays, rising costs, and continued wage inflation.

Entities

Turkey · Muğla · Mahmut Karahan · Bodrum · Atıf Çiçek

Timeline

  1. 19 days ago

    [BUSINESS] 2 sources
    Muğla construction sector faces critical skilled labor shortage

    A severe shortage of skilled manual laborers in Muğla, Turkey, is driving construction wages to record highs, creating a massive income gap between tradespeople and office-based professionals.

  2. 21 days ago

    [BUSINESS] 2 sources
    Turkey construction sector faces skilled labor shortage

    Turkey's construction sector faces a skilled labor shortage, with specialized workers earning up to 177,000 lira monthly due to high demand from urban transformation and earthquake recovery projects.

  3. 28 days ago

    [BUSINESS] 2 sources
    Turkey businesses face labor shortages despite high wage offers

    Turkish businesses in the industrial and tourism sectors report severe labor shortages, struggling to find workers even when offering high salaries of up to 100,000 TL.

  4. about 1 month ago

    [BUSINESS] 3 sources
    Turkey faces skilled labor shortage despite high salary offers

    Turkish employers in tourism and industry report a critical shortage of skilled workers and apprentices, despite offering high salaries such as 100,000 TL for specialized roles.

  5. about 1 month ago

    [BUSINESS] 11 sources
    Turkish institutions announce major recruitment drives and employment data

    TSE is hiring 129 personnel across various technical and administrative roles in Turkey. Meanwhile, İŞKUR reports over 85,000 open positions nationwide, and TEİAŞ has announced results for 402 worker roles.

Sources

dunya.com · gazetedamga.com.tr · gazetepencere.com · haber3.com · haberankara.com · haberx.com · hamlegazetesi.com.tr · ilerigazetesi.com.tr · isinolsa.com · milligazete.com.tr · nssgxxw.com · ortadogugazetesi.com · sallinggroup.com · skiingadventure.com · tgrthaber.com · ticarihayat.com · viaggioneltempo.com · welt-format.ch · yenicaggazetesi.com.tr

This summary has been updated 3 times: see revision history