Monthly average pay 12,450 liras last year

The monthly average gross earning was 12,450 Turkish Liras ($425) last year, with male employees making more money than females, the data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) have shown.

The hourly average gross wage-salary was 55.4 liras, TÜİK said in its Structure of Earnings Statistics.

"While the monthly average gross earnings for male employees was 12,487 liras, for female employees it was 12,376 liras," it noted.

The annual average gross earning was 144,390 liras last year.

Employees with higher education had the highest annual average gross earnings. It was 207,112 liras for male and 171,568 liras for female employees in this group.

The highest-paid employees worked in the finance and insurance sector, with their annual average gross earnings at 293,511 liras, followed by the employees in the information and communication sector at 284,842 liras and the arts, entertainment and recreation sector at 229,108 liras.

Annual average gross earnings in the construction sector was 104,768 liras, while in the real estate sector, it stood at 102,109 liras.

The lowest annual average gross earning was in the accommodation and food service activities sector at 99,290 liras.

The gender pay gap (GPG), defined as the percentage of the difference between wages and earnings of male and female employees, was in favor of male employees at all levels of education, TÜİK said.

The GDP for earnings and wages was 6.2 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively.