Quality of work and employment, industrial relations and restructuring in Turkey

Despite the rapid economic growth of recent years, Turkey has not been successful in translating this growth into the creation of sufficient numbers of new jobs. Employment grew by only 1.2% in 2005 and by 1.3% in 2006, increasing slightly to just 1.8% in the third quarter of 2007. The country’s unemployment rate has remained at about 10%– 11% for each year since the start of the economic recovery in 2002. Unemployment is particularly high among young people aged 15–24 years, reaching 19% in recent years.