The cost of inflation paid by workers
As the four-month inflation rate announced by TÜİK reached 14.64 per cent, the minimum wage of 4,110 TL and the lowest pension of 2,928 TL have lost their value. Whilst the CPI rose by 4.18 per cent, exceeding expectations, annual inflation stood at 32.37 per cent. Annual inflation hit its highest level in the last six months. The items that rose the most in April were natural gas at 44.47 per cent and passenger transport at 19.32 per cent. This was followed by electricity at 16.90 per cent. With the rise in food prices, the worker’s table has also shrunk.
The April data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute once again revealed that price rises have regained momentum and that the economic management’s narrative of ‘disinflation’ has collapsed.
It demonstrated that the economic programme led by Mehmet Şimşek has strayed from its targets. Wage increases based on the inflation forecast at the start of the year have been eroded in the first four months of the year.
In April, consumer prices rose by 4.18 per cent month-on-month, exceeding expectations, whilst annual inflation climbed to 32.37 per cent.
Annual inflation reached its highest level in the last six months. The monthly increase, which was 1.94 per cent in March, more than doubling, signalled a renewed acceleration in inflation.
The data showed that monthly inflation had accelerated due to the effects of the war launched by the US and Israel in the Middle East.
Food contributed nearly 1 percentage point to monthly inflation.
The monthly changes in the three main expenditure groups with the highest weighting were a 3.70 per cent increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages, a 4.29 per cent increase in transport, and a 7.99 per cent increase in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.
The contributions of these main groups to the monthly change were 0.95 percentage points for food and non-alcoholic beverages, 0.73 percentage points for transport, and 0.90 percentage points for housing.
The annual changes in the three main expenditure groups with the highest weight were a 34.55% increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages, a 35.06% increase in transport, and a 46.60% increase in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.
The contributions of these main expenditure groups to the annual change were 8.72 percentage points for food and non-alcoholic beverages, 5.66 percentage points for transport, and 6.30 percentage points for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.
TARGET CRUMBLED, PPI SOUNDS THE ALARM
The 14.64 per cent increase recorded in the first four months of the year has laid bare that the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey’s year-end target of 16 per cent has already been largely exhausted.
Meanwhile, the rise on the producer side will also push inflation even higher.
The Domestic Producer Price Index (PPI), which tracks producer price movements, recorded a monthly increase of 3.17 per cent and an annual increase of 28.59 per cent. The monthly increase in the Domestic PPI was the largest in two years.
WAGES ARE ERODING
According to TÜİK data, the minimum wage, which stood at 28,075 TL at the end of January, is rapidly eroding in the face of inflation.
In April, the minimum wage lost 4,110 TL in value against inflation.
The lowest pension, meanwhile, lost 2,928 TL in value as of April.
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Enflasyonun faturası emekçiye, published in BirGün newspaper on May 5, 2026.
