Evaluation of employment policies applied in Adana

Increasing employment and preventing unemployment are among the most important political problems, especially for developing countries. There are many reasons for unemployment, such as applied faulty and unsuccessful economic policies, population growth faster than economic growth rates, irregular migration mobility, automation systems and technological developments, inter-regional development differences, high labor costs, high tax burdens on employees, and the implementation of a low exchange rate policy that increases imports. The fact that passive employment policies implemented in Turkey in the past years did not have the expected impact on employment brought active employment policy practices to the fore. In this context, İŞKUR implements on-the-job training programs, vocational training courses, workforce training courses, training programs that increase employees' knowledge and skill levels, policies for women's employment, and active employment policies for the employment of disabled, convicts, and young people. The aim of this study is to evaluate the employment policies implemented to increase employment and reduce unemployment in Adana province. Adana province has been chosen because it is one of the cities with high employment capacity due to its large agricultural areas, its high potential in industry and service sector, its young and dynamic population with high labour force potential, its geopolitical position in terms of trade, its important highways and railways. According to the results of the SWOT analysis of employment in Adana, Adana province has many strengths and opportunities in terms of increasing its employment capacity. Additionally, the weaknesses can be strengthened through central government policies, and threats can be mitigated to positively impact employment. To increase employment in Adana, it is recommended to enhance the quality of the workforce through increasing the number and variety of vocational training courses, implement financial policies that incentivize employment in SMEs, ensure effective monitoring of informal employment, and prioritize infrastructure and construction projects aimed at reducing development disparities between districts. Keywords: Employment, unemployment, labor force, fiscal policies