Abstract:

Informal employment is the most essential dimension of the informal economy and young people, who are the future of society, are the age group most adversely affected by informal employment. In this respect, informal employment is often perceived as a low-paid, insecure, and precarious form of work in which young people are mostly employed. Moreover, the effects of informality in employment on productivity, growth and working life lead to loss of fiscal and social security revenues for governments, unfair competition for firms and the lack of social security and health services for workers. In this context, using the 2021 Turkey Household Labour Force Survey microdata, this study presents an analysis examining the differences between young women and men in the relationship between informal employment and demographic and work-related contexts. The research concluded that young men are more affected than young women in terms of informal employment. Also, the study reveals that young people with low education are more likely to be informally employed in micro-size enterprises, and part-time and low-wage jobs below the minimum wage and that young people try to compensate for their income gaps by seeking additional work.

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