TÜİK announces May unemployment rates: The latest on youth unemployment

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) has published labor force statistics for May 2025. According to the data, the number of unemployed persons aged 15 and over decreased by 69 thousand compared to the previous month, falling to 2 million 972 thousand. The unemployment rate stood at 8.4 percent, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points.

The unemployment rate was calculated at 6.5 percent for men and 11.9 percent for women. These figures indicate that women continue to face a significant unemployment problem.

EMPLOYMENT IS RISING, WOMEN ARE LAGGING BEHIND

In May, the number of employed persons increased by 100 thousand to 32 million 519 thousand. With this increase, the employment rate was determined to be 49.0 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage points.

While the employment rate for men was 66.3 percent, it was recorded at only 32.2 percent for women. The gender gap in employment remains remarkably high.

LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION REMAINED STABLE

The labor force increased by 31 thousand compared to the previous month, reaching 35 million 491 thousand. However, the labor force participation rate remained unchanged at 53.5 percent. This rate was 70.9 percent for men and only 36.5 percent for women.

STRIKING RATE FOR WOMEN IN YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

The unemployment rate for the youth population aged 15-24 fell by 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous month to 15.4 percent. However, a large difference was observed by gender: while the youth unemployment rate for men was 11.0 percent, this rate reached 23.5 percent for women.

WEEKLY WORKING HOURS INCREASED TO 42.7 HOURS

The average actual weekly working hours for employed persons during the reference period increased by 0.6 hours to 42.7 hours.

The idle labor force rate, or the broad-based unemployment rate, published by TÜİK was measured at 31 percent.

News Source: 12punto