Broad Unemployment in Türkiye Hits Historic 32.2% in May 2025, Women’s Jobless Rate Reaches 40%

Türkiye’s unemployment crisis has reached record-breaking levels, according to the May 2025 report by DİSK-AR, the research arm of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK). The report, based on official TÜİK household labor force data, reveals that broadly defined unemployment soared to 32.2% in April, surpassing even the peak levels observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Unemployment is out of control,” the report warns, signaling a deepening structural crisis in the country’s labor market.

Broad Unemployment Nears 13 Million

DİSK-AR estimates that as of April 2025, the broadly defined unemployed population reached 12.99 million people, breaking the previous high of 10.5 million in January 2021. This represents an increase of 1.24 million in just one month, and 2.23 million over the past year.

Female Unemployment at Critical Levels: 40%

One of the most alarming statistics in the report concerns female unemployment. The broad unemployment rate for women reached 40%, compared to 27.5% for men.

• Narrowly defined female unemployment: 1.4 million

• Broadly defined female unemployment: 6.2 million

The data reflect not only job losses, but also a dramatic rise in underemployment and discouraged workers—people who are willing and able to work but no longer actively seeking employment due to lack of hope.

Structural Factors Deepen Joblessness

DİSK-AR attributes the spike in unemployment not only to job cuts, but also to:

• A 925,000 increase in underemployed part-time workers over the last year

• Over 5 million people ready to work but not actively seeking jobs, indicating deep labor market discouragement

The organization describes the situation as structural unemployment, exacerbated by economic instability, limited job creation, and inadequate labor policies.

Only 15% of the Unemployed Receive Benefits

Another critical issue highlighted in the report is the limited access to unemployment benefits. As of April 2025:

• Only 15.3% of registered unemployed individuals received unemployment payments

• Roughly 2.6 million people were left without support

DİSK-AR criticized the stringent eligibility criteria and the misuse of unemployment insurance funds, claiming that many jobless citizens are effectively excluded from the system meant to protect them.

A Call for Immediate Reform

The DİSK-AR report urges urgent reforms to expand social protection, address gender inequality in the labor market, and implement active employment policies targeting structural weaknesses.

Without meaningful intervention, the surge in unemployment risks becoming a long-term economic and social crisis, undermining Türkiye’s path to recovery.