Average wages of Syrian refugees rise 67 pct in four years

ISTANBUL

The average wage earned by Syrian refugees living in Turkey increased to around 2,500 Turkish Liras in 2020 from 1,500 liras in 2016, a study by the International Labor Organization (ILO) has shown.

That corresponded to a 66.7 percent increase in average wages of Syrian refugees in four years.

In the first quarter of 2018, the employment level of Syrians peaked at 1.18 million but has been declining since then, the ILO said.

In 2018, Syrian men’s labor force participation rate stood at 82.8 percent, which was similar to the one of Turkish men, whereas Syrian women’s participation rate at 22.4 percent was much lower than that of Turkish women, according to the ILO’s calculations.

In 2020, Syrian men’s labor force participation rate declined to 66.9 percent, and among Syrian women it was 18.3 percent.

The report also noted that the garment sector is no longer the main provider of jobs to Syrian refugees. “Trade and hospitality share in Syrians’ employment has doubled since 2014. Other manufacturing activities, agriculture and the education sector [are] gaining ground slowly.”

In 2014, 82.2 percent of Syrian refugees were working more than 45 hours a week (standard working week), but in 2019, the figure was down to 65.2 per cent. “Still, more than 10 percent worked more than 60 hours a week,” it said.

The economic downturn that started in 2018 and to a larger extent the pandemic seem to have increased enrolment in school among Syrian youth, the report also noted.

According to data from the Directorate General of Migration Management, as of December, there are 3.74 million Syrians living in Turkey under temporary protection. In 2013, this figure was around 225,000, rising to 1.5 million in the following year.