TÜİK announces: Limited decline in unemployment

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) has announced the 2025 Labor Force Statistics. According to the results of the Household Labor Force Survey, the number of unemployed persons aged 15 and over decreased by 147 thousand compared to the previous year, reaching 2 million 966 thousand in 2025. The unemployment rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points to 8.3 percent. The unemployment rate was estimated at 6.8 percent for men and 11.3 percent for women.

EMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 49.0 PERCENT

The number of employed persons decreased by 54 thousand compared to the previous year to 32 million 566 thousand in 2025, and the employment rate decreased by 0.5 percentage points to 49.0 percent. This rate was 66.4 percent for men and 32.1 percent for women.

LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE WAS 53.5 PERCENT

The labor force decreased by 200 thousand compared to the previous year to 35 million 533 thousand in 2025, and the labor force participation rate decreased by 0.7 percentage points to 53.5 percent. The labor force participation rate was 71.3 percent for men and 36.2 percent for women.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN THE YOUTH POPULATION WAS 15.3 PERCENT

The unemployment rate in the youth population, covering the 15-24 age group, decreased by 1 percentage point compared to the previous year to 15.3 percent in 2025. In this age group, the unemployment rate was estimated at 11.7 percent for men and 22.1 percent for women.

59.0 PERCENT OF EMPLOYMENT WAS IN THE SERVICES SECTOR

14.0 percent of the employed were in agriculture, 20.2 percent in industry, 6.8 percent in construction, and 59.0 percent in the services sector. Compared to the previous year, the share of the services sector increased by 1.1 percentage points and the construction sector by 0.2 percentage points, while the share of the agriculture sector decreased by 0.8 percentage points and the industry sector by 0.5 percentage points.

In 2025, 4 million 560 thousand people were employed in the agriculture sector, 6 million 578 thousand in the industry sector, 2 million 224 thousand in the construction sector, and 19 million 204 thousand in the services sector. Compared to the previous year, the number of employed persons decreased by 267 thousand in the agriculture sector and 168 thousand in the industry sector, while it increased by 62 thousand in the construction sector and 318 thousand in the services sector.

IDLE LABOR FORCE RATE WAS 29.7 PERCENT

The idle labor force rate, consisting of time-related underemployment, potential labor force, and the unemployed, increased by 3 percentage points compared to the previous year to 29.7 percent in 2025. While the combined rate of time-related underemployment and the unemployed was 19.6 percent, the combined rate of the unemployed and the potential labor force was 19.9 percent.

PROVINCE WITH THE LOWEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WAS ARDAHAN

While the province with the lowest unemployment rate was Ardahan at 4.0 percent, the province with the highest unemployment rate was Hakkari at 13.8 percent.

PROVINCE WITH THE HIGHEST EMPLOYMENT RATE WAS ARTVİN

The highest employment rate was recorded in the province of Artvin at 58.1 percent. The lowest employment rate was in the province of Hakkari at 32.9 percent.

PROVINCE WITH THE HIGHEST LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE WAS ARTVİN

The highest labor force participation rate was recorded in the province of Artvin at 61.3 percent. The lowest labor force participation rate was in the province of Hakkari at 38.1 percent.