People lose hope in the economy

Politics Service

The palace government is destroying the people's hopes for the country. Research shows that the people are becoming hopeless in almost every area, especially the economy, while confidence in the palace administration is steadily declining.

Finally, according to the October 2025 report by İstanbul Economic Research, pessimism about the economy persists, while inflation expectations have risen sharply. While 72% of participants believe the economy is deteriorating, inflation expectations have risen by 7 points in a month. Women, pensioners and the unemployed have been the most affected by economic hardship.

The results of the October 2025 Turkey Report, published monthly by İstanbul Economic Research and Consulting Inc., have been announced. According to data published in “Ekonomim”, the report stated that in the area of “Economic Perception and Inflation Expectations”, the general pessimism regarding the economy continued in October. While 72% of participants described the current state of the economy as ‘bad’ or ‘very bad,’ when looking at the rates based on voters, this rate was in the 93-96% range among opposition voters and in the 46-53% range among People's Alliance voters.

Responses to the question ‘How do you assess the economy today?’ showed variations by age group, remaining high despite a decline among young people. The rate of negative assessments of the economy among participants aged 35-54 was 57%, while the same rate was 68% among young people and 64% among participants aged 55 and over. In October, the rate of negative assessments of the current economy increased significantly among those aged 55 and above, while it decreased in other age groups.

When looking at assessments of the current economy by education level, the greatest change was observed among those with primary education or below. In May 2023, the total percentage of participants with ‘primary education and below’ who described the current state of the economy as ‘Very bad/Bad’ was 54%, while in October 2025, the same rate was 67%. Compared to the previous month, the proportion of negative assessments decreased among those with secondary education and below, while it increased among university graduates.

UNEMPLOYED AND RETIRED AFFECTED THE MOST

The groups with the highest proportion of people who rated the current state of the economy as ‘very bad/bad’ were the unemployed and retirees. The group with the highest proportion of negative assessments of the current state of the economy was the unemployed at 77%, followed by retirees at 76%. Private sector employees followed these two groups.

Those not working and not seeking employment were the lowest group among those who thought the economy was bad, at 64 per cent, while daily/hourly workers were the second lowest group, at 69 per cent, who thought the economy was ‘less bad’. Regarding expectations for the future of the economy, when asked ‘How do you think the economy will be in the next year?’, 54% of participants answered “worse” or ‘much worse’. Although this rate decreased by 4 points compared to the previous month, it was still seen that more than half of the society held this view. In terms of voters, pessimism decreased by 16 points among MHP voters, while it increased by 8 points among DEM Party voters.

INFLATION EXPECTATIONS ROSE SHARPLY

One of the most striking results of the October report was the sharp deterioration in inflation expectations. The annual inflation expectation for 12 months ahead rose from 54.1 per cent to 61 per cent, an increase of approximately 7 points compared to the previous month.

The negative trend continued in the results regarding income-expenditure balance. While the majority in all age groups stated that they ‘could not make ends meet,’ it was observed that economic pressure at the household level continued in line with macroeconomic indicators.

The proportion of those whose income did not cover their expenses was 4 percentage points higher among women than among men, while the proportion of women who stated that they were ‘just getting by’ was also 4 percentage points higher than among men. Male participants, at 19%, stated that their income exceeded their expenses or more than covered them at a rate 7 percentage points higher than female participants.

While those whose income did not cover their expenses were in the majority in all age groups, the group with the highest percentage of respondents who answered ‘My income barely covered my expenses’ was the 18-24 age group, at 33%.

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Halk ekonomiden umudunu kesti, published in BirGün newspaper on October 21, 2025.