An analysis on socio-economic determinants of youth unemployment in Turkey

In many nations worldwide, unemployment is one of the key indicators that reflects the socioeconomic status of the society. Youth unemployment, defined as the inability of the young population to find a job, generates a slew of socioeconomic issues in developing countries with considerable youth populations, such as Turkey. The basic motivation of the study is to reveal the socio-economic profile of youth unemployment in Turkey in order to understand the solution of this problem. In this context, the primary purpose of this study is to identify the socioeconomic factors that influence the unemployment of young people aged 15 to 29 in Turkey, as well as the direction and magnitude with which these factors influence the probability of youth unemployment. In this regard, using cross-sectional data from the Turkish Statistical Institute's Survey of Income and Living Conditions for the years 2013 and 2017, the factors that determine young people's unemployment were investigated using logit model. According to the findings, the probability of being unemployed increases as the education level of young individuals increases. The probability of being unemployed reduces as young individuals get older, according to age categories. Young people are more likely to be unemployed as their health worsens and households struggle to make ends meet. Socialization of young individuals and their ability to participate in cultural activities reduce their probability of being unemployed. Finally, a sufficient area of use in the residence reduces the probability of youths being unemployed, the occurrence of crime and violence in the living environment, the existence of noise and pollution, and the crowdedness of the household increases the probability of youths being unemployed.