The confederation said the hunger threshold, the minimum monthly food cost for a family to maintain a healthy and balanced diet, rose to 27,970 lira ($673) in September, exceeding the minimum wage for the first time by 21 percent. Financial analyst İris Cibre noted on X that the gap between the hunger threshold and the minimum wage has never been this wide. TÜRK-İŞ calculated the monthly cost of living for a single worker at 36,305 lira ($873), leaving a 14,201 lira ($342) shortfall compared to the minimum wage of 22,104 lira ($531). The confederation also reported that annual “kitchen inflation” — the increase in food prices — reached 41.05 percent, with prices rising 32.67 percent in the first nine months of 2025 alone. Over the past several years Turkey has been suffering from backsliding in its economy, with high inflation and unemployment as well as a poor human rights record.