Jobs hold key to Turkish youth hopes, survey shows

Jobs hold key to Turkish youth hopes, survey shows

ANKARA: A wide-ranging survey released on Tuesday sheds light on the situation facing Turkish youth amid the pandemic. The study, conducted jointly by the Habitat Association and the Infakto Research Workshop, underlines the importance of jobs to Turkish youth and their hopes for the future. Young people make up about 15 percent of the country's population, with millions of new voters expected to cast their votes in the parliamentary and presidential elections in 2023. The Habitat survey was based on face-to-face interviews conducted in April 2021 across 16 cities with 1,214 people aged 18 to 29. It shows that Turkish youth have higher life satisfaction when they find a job. According to the survey, the overall life satisfaction of young respondents stands at 50 percent, with this rate increasing to 55 percent if they are employed but falling to 38 percent when they are jobless and searching for work. "The results should be a reminder to the government and private sector to increase job opportunities in order to raise hopes of Turkey's youth,“ Prof. Emre Erdogan, cofounder of Infakto Research Workshop, told Arab News. "Those who are searching for a job and those who lost hope of finding any employment