THE ANALYSIS OF OCCUPATIONS IN TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES IN TURKEY

Abstract

This study investigates whether the occupational structure, employment in occupations and occupational wage levels have changed and wage and labor polarization exist in Turkey. In this study, we use the data from 20042018 Household Labor Force Surveys conducted by TURKSTAT. The analysis results show that employment and average wages in occupations have changed significantly during the period 2004-2011. When we group occupations with respect to skill levels, our results show signs of wage and labor polarization during the period 2004-2011. In other words, we observe that employment and average wages in low-skill and high-skill occupations increased more than those in middle-skill occupations during this period. However, we find only a sign of wage polarization for the period 2012-2018. These findings can be explained by several factors such as the increase in education, technological advancement, the employment-skill mismatch, the growing share of low-skill jobs in the services sector, the decrease in union density and minimum wage increases. In the light of these findings, it is revealed that further studies are needed to establish the causal relationships regarding to changes in the occupational structure and thus make policy suggestions.