Podcast40 percent of Turkey's youth supported financially by parents, says main opposition
Some 40 percent of youth aged between 25-29 are financially dependent on their parents, said a deputy of main opposition CHP. "Some 40 percent of our 6.1 million young people in the age group of 25-29, i.e. 2.5 million, are neither in unemployment nor in education. Due to the ruling government's policies, our youth in this age group are unfortunately living in a way that is depending on their parents,” Veli Ağbaba said.
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Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy chair Veli Ağbaba has said that 40 percent of Turkish youth aged between 25-29 rely on parents financially. Ağbaba made the remarks in a written statement on Aug. 10, basing the figures on the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).
Seasonally adjusted unemployment in Turkey 'up 0.2 percent from May 2019'“Some 40 percent of the youth aged between 25-29 are financially in need of their parents. The earthquake seen in the employment is mostly affecting the youth...Some 40 percent of our 6.1 million young people in the age group of 25-29, i.e. 2.5 million, are neither in unemployment nor in education. Due to the ruling government's policies, our youth in this age group are unfortunately living in a way that is depending on their parents,” Ağbaba said.
The CHP deputy made the remarks as the unemployment rate in this age group rose in May to 24.9 percent from 23.3 percent a year earlier, according to the TÜİK data.
Turkey’s labor participation rate languished at 47.6 percent in the April-June period as a coronavirus lockdown weighed, while a ban on layoffs saw the unemployment rate edge up just slightly to 12.9 percent, data showed on Aug. 10.
Economist Eğilmez: Turkish economy is no longer predictableAğbaba slammed the TÜİK for releasing figures which he said were not trustworthy. He said that it was not possible for the number of employed people and unemployed people to decrease at the same time.
“Nowhere else in the world decreases labor participation and unemployment at the same time. TÜİK says that the number of unemployed persons decreased by 2.4 million to 25.8 million compared to the last year, whereas the number of unemployment persons decreased by 331,000 to 3.8 million. Turkey must be the only country in the world that decreases both unemployment and labor participation at the same time,” Ağbaba said.
Previous studies suggest that many people in Turkey lose hope in finding employment to the point that they no longer apply for jobs. As a result of this, they are no longer considered to be in the labor force.
Erdoğan says Turkish economy is on fast lane, downplays lira's downfall against USD, euroIn April, Ankara imposed a three-month ban on layoffs to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Analysts have said the unemployment figure of Turkey reflects the narrow definition used, with those on unpaid leave not included.
Ağbaba also criticized President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's remarks from last week that “Turkey is soaring.” Erdoğan said on Aug. 7 that Turkish economy is strong and will get stronger in the future, despite the Turkish lira's collapse against US dollar.
“Turkey is not soaring, on the contrary it is experiencing an earthquake of employment. Turkey is in constant decline,” Ağbaba said.