Turkey rises minimum wage by 50% amid soaring inflation

Turkey's minimum wage will be 4,250 Turkish liras (272 U.S. dollars) in 2022, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday, announcing a nearly 50-percent increase, reported Xinhua.

The employees will enjoy a higher minimum wage if they are married and have more children, according to Erdogan at a press conference.

There are nearly 6 million workers and laborers relying solely on minimum wage, Turkish Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Bilgin said earlier.

The official annual inflation rate in Turkey rose to 21.31 percent in November.

Turkey's central bank on Thursday further lowered the interest rate from 15 percent to 14 percent despite soaring inflation and depreciating currency.

The weakening Turkish lira has left many people struggling with higher consumer prices through the import of essential goods.