The number of salaried employees in Türkiye’s construction sector rose to more than 1.93 million in May, marking the highest level ever recorded for the month, as urban transformation projects accelerated across many cities, particularly Istanbul.
According to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), the total number of salaried employees in the industrial, construction, and trade-services sectors increased 0.5 percent year-on-year to 15.97 million in May.
In the construction sector, salaried employment increased 1.2 percent from a year earlier to 1.93 million, the highest May figure on record.
Of those employed in construction, 1.27 million worked in building construction, 248,000 in civil engineering projects, and 418,000 in specialized construction activities. Employment in those subsectors increased by 1 percent, 4 percent, and 0.1 percent, respectively.
Industry representatives said the increase in construction employment was largely driven by urban transformation activity.
As of July, the number of independent units undergoing urban transformation across Istanbul’s 39 districts exceeded 276,000.
Ali Hepşen, a faculty member at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Business Administration, said the record level of salaried employment indicated that activity in the construction sector remained strong.
“The data show that the recovery in the construction sector is continuing not only on the production side but also in employment,” Hepşen said.
He said the 4 percent increase in civil engineering construction reflected the impact of infrastructure and public investments, while the 1 percent rise in building construction pointed to more moderate momentum. The 0.1 percent increase in specialized construction activities suggested a cautious outlook continued in some areas of the sector, he added.
