Türkiye’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 8.2% in Q1 2025

Türkiye’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to 8.2% in the first quarter of 2025, marking a 0.4 percentage point decrease from the previous quarter, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

The total number of unemployed individuals aged 15 and over fell by 183,000, bringing the national unemployment figure to 2.88 million.

Unemployment by gender:

• Men: 6.6%

• Women: 11.2%

Employment and Labour Force See Notable Declines

The number of employed individuals dropped by 266,000, falling to 32.39 million, while the employment rate declined by 0.5 percentage points to 48.9%.

Employment by gender:

• Men: 66.3%

• Women: 31.9%

The total labour force shrank by 449,000 to 35.27 million, and the labour force participation rate dropped to 53.3% (down 0.8 points).

Participation rates by gender:

• Men: 71.0%

• Women: 36.0%

Youth Unemployment Falls, but Gender Gap Remains

Among the 15–24 age group, the youth unemployment rate fell by 0.9 points to 15.0%.

Youth unemployment by gender:

• Young men: 10.8%

• Young women: 22.7%

Employment by Sector: Agriculture Hit Hardest

Compared to the previous quarter, seasonally adjusted employment declined across most sectors:

• Agriculture: -171,000

• Industry: -61,000

• Services: -37,000

• Construction: +3,000

Sectoral distribution of employment:

• Agriculture: 14.3%

• Industry: 20.8%

• Construction: 6.6%

• Services: 58.2%

Working Hours Increase, But Underutilized Labour Rises

The average actual weekly working hours rose by 0.6 hours to 43.5 hours.

However, the labour underutilization rate (which includes time-related underemployment, potential labour force, and unemployment) increased by 0.4 percentage points to 28.5%.

Breakdown of underutilized labour:

• Time-related underemployment + unemployed: 18.4%

• Potential labour force + unemployed: 19.6%