TÜRK-İŞ’s monthly survey monitoring workers’ living conditions and the impact of basic-needs prices on household budgets has announced its September 2026 results. The hunger threshold, measured by the monthly food expenditure of a family of four living in Ankara, was 37 thousand 800.92 TL, while the poverty threshold, including other mandatory expenses, was 123 thousand 130 TL. The monthly cost of living for a single worker rose to 48 thousand 884.82 TL. TÜRK-İŞ stated that this figure does not represent a wage calculation but the total income that needs to enter the household. Food expenditure increased by 1.10% monthly; the 12-month change was 35.14%, the annual average increase was 39.78%, and the nine-month increase was 25.40%. TÜRK-İŞ has been conducting the survey for 39 years.
Why it matters
The figures show that pressure on living conditions is not limited to food prices and that other mandatory expenses also account for a significant share of household budgets. The rates of increase across different periods indicate that a single month’s movement is not sufficient to explain the total price pressure faced by workers and families. The survey’s use of separate criteria for a family of four and a single worker demonstrates that income adequacy must be assessed according to household structure. At the same time, the data leave open the question of to what extent the calculated living costs can be covered by different wage and income groups, because the study measures the total income that needs to enter the household, not actual wages.
Background
September is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we published 22 reports mentioning this name in the past 90 days; the most recent was dated September 19, 2026.