Türkiye was among the most successful countries in the OECD in terms of real wage growth - Last Minute

The report titled "Employment Outlook 2026" of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) revealed that Türkiye is among the OECD's strongest performing countries in real wage growth in the last 5 years and on an annual basis.

According to the OECD's "Employment Outlook 2026" report, Turkey ranked second among OECD countries by recording an average increase of 7.1 percent in real wages in the first quarter of this year. In the same period, the OECD average remained at 2.2 percent.

In the 5-year period from the first quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of this year, the cumulative real wage increase in Türkiye was 78.6 percent on average. During this period, the OECD average remained at 4.9 percent. Thus, Türkiye became the country that recorded the highest cumulative real wage increase in the OECD. Türkiye's five-year real wage increase was approximately 16 times the OECD average.

Markets remain generally resilient

According to the report, although signs of weakening in labor markets have begun to appear in OECD countries, the markets generally remain resilient. However, differences between regions continue to significantly impact employment and income opportunities.

OECD pointed out that although there has been a recent recovery in real wages, wages in many countries still cannot fully compensate for the losses caused by high inflation in 2022. The decrease in rigidity in the labor market, the slowdown in productivity growth and geopolitical uncertainties were among the main factors limiting the wage increase rate.