Unemployment in Turkey rose to 8.4% in September

Rise in unemployment according to the Turkish Statistical Institute

Turkey's unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points in September compared with August, reaching 8.4%, the Anadolu agency reported citing data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). The number of unemployed people aged 15 and over increased by 198,000 over the month, reaching 2.97 million.

Employment and labor force

At the same time, the number of employed people fell by 49,000 to 32.45 million, and the employment rate dropped by 0.1 percentage points to 48.3%. Meanwhile, the labor force expanded by 149,000 to 35.41 million, and the labor force participation rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 52.7%. Thus, the rise in unemployment reflects both a decline in employment and an increase in the number of people looking for work.

Gender and age differences

Unemployment among women is notably higher than among men: 11.3% versus 6.9%. The employment rate stands at 65.8% for men and 31.2% for women, with labor force participation at 70.7% and 35.2%, respectively. Youth unemployment in the 15–24 age group rose by 1.6 percentage points compared with August, reaching 14.8%; among young men it was estimated at 10.4%, and among young women at 23.3%.