Poverty threshold at 34,000 Turkish Liras

The labor union Türk-İş has calculated that the poverty threshold of a family of four increased from 33,752 Turkish Liras in May to 33,789 ($1,298) liras in June.

The poverty threshold depicts the monthly amount of necessary and basic expenditure of a family of four, including food, housing, utilities, transport, education and health.

Türk-İş also said that food expenditure of a family of four, which the union describes as the "hunger line," climbed from 10,362 liras to 10,373 liras.

Monthly cost of living of a single employee was 13,471 liras in June, according to the union.

Food expenditure of a family of four living in the capital Ankara rose by 0.1 percent in June from the previous month, while the increases from the end of 2022 and in the past 12 months were 28 percent and 62.3 percent.

Households spend some 23 percent of their income on food, while this figure is 3.58 percent for the lowest-income groups, the union said, citing a survey by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

Adding housing and transport costs, the lowest income groups have to allocate 73 percent of their income for necessary expenses.

In June, the new minimum wage was increased by 34 percent from 8,506 liras to 11,402 liras ($438).