Türkiye’s unemployment rate rose to 8.6% in the second quarter of 2025, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported on Tuesday.

The increase reflects growing challenges in the labor market, with the number of unemployed individuals aged 15 and older rising by 106,000 to 3.03 million.

Unemployment rates showed a notable gender disparity, with men facing a 7.0% rate compared to 11.6% for women. Youth unemployment (ages 15–24) saw an even sharper rise, climbing 0.7 points to 15.9%. Young women were hit hardest, with a joblessness rate of 23.7%, compared to 11.7% for young men.

Employment in Türkiye slightly declined, with the number of employed persons dropping by 41,000 to 32.43 million, pushing the employment rate down to 48.9%. The gender gap persisted here as well, with men’s employment rate at 66.1% and women’s at 32.1%.

The labor force participation rate held steady at 53.5%, with 35.47 million people in the labor force. Men participated at a rate of 71.1%, while women’s participation lagged at 36.3%.

Sectoral shifts revealed mixed trends. The services sector led employment, accounting for 58.9% of jobs and adding 174,000 positions. Construction gained 36,000 jobs, but agriculture and industry saw declines of 95,000 and 156,000 jobs, respectively. Overall, employment distribution was 14.0% in agriculture, 20.3% in industry, 6.8% in construction, and 58.9% in services.

Average weekly working hours dropped by 1.2 hours to 42.1 hours. Meanwhile, the composite measure of labor underutilization, which includes unemployment, time-related underemployment, and the potential labor force, surged by 3.5 points to 32.0%. The combined rate of time-related underemployment and unemployment reached 22.1%, while unemployment and potential labor force stood at 20.2%.

The data underscores ongoing challenges in Türkiye’s labor market, particularly for women and youth, as the economy navigates sectoral shifts and rising underutilization. (ILKHA)