Turkey’s unemployment rate held steady at 8.6% in September 2024, with the total number of unemployed persons aged 15 and over rising by 35,000 to 3.1 million, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). The rate remained unchanged from August, with male unemployment at 6.7% and female unemployment at 12.3%.
Labor underutilization, a broader measurement including time-related underemployment and the potential labor force, decreased by 1.7 percentage points to 25.6%, or about 9 million people. The combined rate of time-related underemployment and unemployment stood at 17.3%, while the combined rate of unemployment and potential labor force reached 17.9%.
The number of employed persons rose by 95,000 from the previous month, bringing Turkey’s total employment to 32.8 million. The employment rate increased slightly to 49.7%, with 67.3% employment for men and 32.5% for women.
The labor force grew by 131,000 to reach 35.9 million in September, with a participation rate of 54.4%. Male labor force participation stood at 72.1%, while female participation was 37.0%.
Among young people aged 15-24, unemployment rose by 0.3 percentage points, reaching 17.1% in September. The youth unemployment rate was 13.5% for men and 24.0% for women.
For those employed, the seasonally adjusted average weekly actual working hours remained steady at 42.7 hours in September. (VK)