Turkey’s Labor Market During Covid-19 Pandemic: A K-Modes Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant economic contractions and employment vulnerabilities for the economies, including Turkey. The pandemic exacerbated structural challenges related to high unemployment, low labor force participation, and widespread informality. This study aims to analyze the differences in the labor market between the 2019 and 2020 years in Turkey. For this purpose, we used the clustering method. While applying the clustering method, we used education type, gender, and age group data. Moreover, the study also employed information from employed, unemployed, and not in labor force data. We implemented a Machine Learning method, K-modes analysis, using the Turkish Statistical Institute's employment statistics and Labor Force Statistics Micro Datasets for 2019 and 2020.