The Repercussions of the February 6 Earthquake on the Primary Labour Market in the Affected Provinces

Öz

While the short-term economic impacts of earthquakes are widely recognised as severe, their medium- and long-term consequences remain controversial. Although the international literature on disasters is extensive, it primarily focuses on short-term shocks and general recovery patterns, often neglecting sectoral and structural differences across regions. In Turkey, existing research is largely confined to macroeconomic indicators, leaving a notable gap in microlevel analyses of labor market dynamics and sectoral specialisation. This limitation restricts a comprehensive understanding of the effects of disasters on regional labour markets. 

This study addresses this gap by applying the Location Quotient technique to analyse changes in sectoral employment concentration across regions over time. The analysis covers 11 provinces affected by the earthquake and uses data from the 2022-2023 statistical yearbooks of the Social Security Institution and the Household labour Force Survey. The findings reveal a decline in sectoral specialisation in Adıyaman, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, and Osmaniye. Although temporary employment gains were observed in the construction sector, these were insufficient to offset losses in the industrial and service sectors. Overall, the results demonstrated that declining sectoral specialisation weakens Turkey’s regional recovery capacity beyond the short term and that the study contributes significantly to the literature at both the methodological and empirical levels.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• February 6 Earthquakes
• LQ
• Labour market
• Employment
• Economic destruction

Kaynakça

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