One-third of Turkey's workforce is idle, official data reveals

Turkey's broad unemployment rate rose to 32.9% in June, reflecting a total of 11.6 million people who are unemployed, underemployed, or available to work but not actively seeking a job, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

The unemployment figure stood at 3.05 million, equivalent to 8.6%. The idle labor force figure includes not only those actively seeking work but also individuals in part-time employment desiring full-time jobs, and those willing to work but not currently job-seeking.

The broad unemployment rate increased by 1.8 percentage points compared to the previous month, reaching its highest level this year.

Young women face disproportional unemployment

Young people and women continue to be the most vulnerable groups in the labor market. Among people aged 15–24, the overall unemployment rate climbed to 16.2 percent. The rate was significantly higher among young women, reaching 23.7 percent, compared to 12.3 percent among young men.

“These figures show that nearly one in four young women is unemployed,” TurkStat noted in its release.

Labor force participation remained flat at 53.5 percent, totaling 35.5 million people. However, a gender breakdown reveals stark disparities: 71.3 percent of men participate in the labor force compared to just 36 percent of women.

Total employment declined by 18,000 in June to 32.45 million, while the employment rate dropped by 0.1 percentage point to 48.9 percent. The employment rate among men stood at 66.2 percent, while for women it was 31.9 percent.

The data highlights the continuing gender gap in both employment and labor force participation, with women significantly trailing men in both categories. (HA/VK)