2010’s 1 million employment record to be exceeded in 2011

The government is reaching goals set in the Medium-term Economic Program (OVP), which covers the years 2011 to 2013. The targets, published in the Official Gazette in October, give priority to ensuring stable economic growth and increasing employment. The desire to repeat last year’s goal of creating 1 million new jobs again this year has sparked hopes among many in the country.

While large global corporations laid off employees, the private sector in Turkey provided employment to 953,000 people in the first nine months of 2010. The private sector also targets providing a similar number of jobs this year as well. The public sector aims to provide jobs for 120,000 people. With the public and private sector’s targets combined, an additional 1 million people minimum will be employed in 2011.

In contrast to Europe, Turkey became one of the most robust economies in the world during the 2009 economic crisis and plans to have the same success in employment. The private sector, which pioneered economic success in 2010, will again lead this success in 2011. The unemployment rate dropped to 11.3 percent as of September of last year and the goal to create another 1 million new jobs in 2011 has facilitated expectations that the downward trend in unemployment will continue.

While the public sector is expected to employ an additional 120,000 people in 2011, incentives included in a “sack law” -- a term used to describe a package of amendments to various laws -- being debated in Parliament could increase the number of expected new jobs to at least 200,000. The retail sector will take the lead in employment in 2011. The new year will bring 150,000 new jobs in shopping centers, which have been rapidly increasing in line with urbanization efforts, and in stores located in shopping areas.

The private sector, which has set its strategies for 2011, is preparing to meet the same targets it met in 2010. Migros, which reached its goal of employing 6,000 people in 2010, aims to reach the same level of growth in employment in 2011. Koç Holding, which employs 73,000 people, created 5,000 new jobs last year and aims to create a similar number of new jobs in the new year as well. Sabancı Holding hired more than 3,000 people last year, increasing its total number of employees to 55,000, and aims to hire at least 3,000 more employees in 2011.

Limak Holding hired 1,000 workers in 2010. “Thankfully, business is good. We found the opportunity to create more jobs for more people. We are going to create at least 1,000 new jobs in 2011,” said Limak Holding Chairman Nihat Özdemir.

The Zorlu Group, which increased the number of its employees to 25,000 after hiring more than 1,000 people last year, Türk Telekom, Turkish Airlines (THY) and the Anadolu Group plan to create the same amount of jobs they created in 2010. Last year, Türk Telekom hired 2,600 workers, THY hired 2,000 workers, including cabin and cockpit crew, and the Anadolu Group hired 1,000 people.

Banks to create 10,000 jobs

In line with plans to open more branches, banks are preparing to hire 10,000 new people. The number of bank employees in the Turkish banking system will increase from around 170,000 to 180,000 by the end of 2011. Twelve banks which have determined their strategies for 2011 will hire 9,993 people as part of their plans to open new branches.

Last year, Ziraat Bankası hired 2,500 people, Yapı Kredi hired 1,200, İş Bankası 1,600, Finansbank 1,500, and Vakıfbank 900 people. Denizbank, which hired more than 800 people last year, aims to incorporate an additional 1,300 employees into its business in 2011. Garanti Bankası hired close to 1,300 people in 2010 and aims to create jobs for more than 1,000 people in 2011.

Bekir Köksal, head of the Administration for Persons with Disabilities, affiliated with the Prime Ministry, said the 26,625 vacant positions that are reserved for people with disabilities will be filled in the new year. Köksal stressed that enhancing the awareness of public institutions and agencies and employers about employing people with disabilities was essential to solving the employment problems that people with disabilities face.

Noting that some public agencies still feel that employees with disabilities will have a difficult time in the workplace, Köksal said the 26,625 vacant positions are spread across the public sector.