Alarming TÜİK Data: One in Three in Turkey Faces Unemployment

Official statistics from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) reveal a concerning trend in the country's labor market for April 2026. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged up to 8.2%, a 0.1 percentage point increase compared to the previous month.

The data indicates a significant contraction in employment. The number of employed individuals fell by 356,000, bringing the employment rate down to 48.1%. This decline suggests a weakening in job creation or an increase in layoffs across various sectors.

Accompanying the rise in unemployment and fall in employment, the overall labor force also decreased by 361,000 people, settling at 35.034 million. Consequently, the labor force participation rate dropped by 0.6 percentage points to 52.4%.

Despite the broader negative trends, there was a positive development in youth unemployment. For the 15-24 age group, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.8 percentage points to 14.5%. However, within this demographic, female youth unemployment remained considerably higher at 19.4% compared to 12.0% for males.

Further analysis of working hours shows an increase in the average weekly actual working time to 42.1 hours, up by 0.3 hours. The underemployment rate also saw a decrease, falling by 1.2 percentage points to 30.1%. The combined rate of time-related underemployment and unemployment stood at 19.3%, while the combined rate of unemployed and potential labor force was 20.5%.