Turkey raises monthly minimum wage by 49%

Turkey’s monthly minimum wage will be 17,002 Turkish lira ($578.31) in 2024, Labour Minister Vedat Isikhan said on Wednesday, marking a 49% increase from the level determined in July and a 100% hike from January.

Turkey’s annual inflation rate edged up to 61.98% in November, its highest level this year but just shy of expectations, signalling that an aggressive rate-hiking cycle may be beginning to cool demand.

Inflation soared after a currency crisis at the end of 2021 and touched a 24-year peak of 85.51% in October last year. This year, the lira has so far lost some 35% of its value, compounding the cost-of-living crisis for Turks.