Return of Syrians to impact labor market: Gov’t report

Return of Syrians to impact labor market: Gov’t report

ANKARA
Return of Syrians to impact labor market: Gov’t report

The return of Syrians to their country is likely to have a significant impact on the labor market in Türkiye, according to the National Employment Strategy (NES) document.

After the civil war broke out in the neighboring country, millions of Syrians took refuge in Türkiye. Data from the presidency of Migration Management show that in 2018 more than 3.6 million Syrians lived in the country under temporary protection. This number declined to 2.86 million as of the end of January 2025.

On Jan. 29, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that since Dec. 9, nearly 82,000 returned to their country amid the topping of the Assad regime.

“At this stage, it is difficult to estimate the number of people under temporary protection who will return their country,” the NES said.

The employment strategy, which covers the period of 2025 and 2028, was unveiled by Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Işıkhan on Feb. 4.

“The impact of their return on the labor market is likely to be significant. This will especially be the case for the industries which employ those people,” it added.

This situation necessitates the meticulous analysis of changes that may occur in the labor market, the determination of measures to be implemented and the development of long-term, sustainable policies, the strategy document said.

“Measures to ensure the sustainability of labor supply and employment need to be taken, policies need to be determined, and the infrastructure needs to be strengthened to enable the labor market to adapt to changing conditions,” it stressed.

Effectively managing this process will not only contribute to maintaining the market balance but also to creating a more inclusive and resilient labor structure, it noted.

In his earlier assessments in late December, Yerlikaya said that a surge in the return of Syrians was expected starting from June 2025 when schools are about to enter their three-month summer break.

Syrians are employed mostly in labor-intensive industries, such as construction, textile, agriculture as well as manufacturing and trade.

Meanwhile, Turkish companies are keeping a close eye on Syria to see what policies the new government there will adopt to revive the economy of the war-torn country.

Retail and textile are among the industries that could contribute to the reconstruction of Syria, especially in employment and production, according to the representatives of the sectors.

Now that Syrians are returning to their country, Turkish companies could establish production facilities there, argued Ahmet Öksüz, chair of the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (İTHİB).

“Syria is also logistically very advantageous due to its proximity to Türkiye. If we can start production in labor-intensive sectors there, in the regions close to our country, Türkiye will turn this into an advantage,” Öksüz said.

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