Turkey’s unemployment rate hits 9.2 percent in June

Duvar English

The state-run Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) on Aug. 12 released unemployment data for June. The Labor Force Survey results showed that the number of unemployed individuals aged 15 and older increased by 234,000 in June 2024, reaching 3.3 million.

The unemployment rate rose by 0.7 points to 9.2 percent. The rate was estimated at 7.6 percent for men and 12.4 percent for women.

The number of employed individuals decreased by 341,000 from the previous month, totaling 32.5 million in June 2024. The employment rate fell by 0.6 points to 49.3 percent, with the rate at 66.9 percent for men and 32.1 percent for women.

The labor force shrank by 107,000 people in June 2024, down to 35.8 million. The labor force participation rate dropped by 0.2 points to 54.4 percent, with a rate of 72.4 percent for men and 36.7 percent for women.

Among the youth population aged 15-24, the unemployment rate increased by 1.7 points from the previous month to 17.6 percent. For this age group, the rate was 14.8 percent for men and 23.2 percent for women.

The seasonally adjusted average actual weekly working hours rose by 0.1 hours to 44.0 hours in June 2024.

The broadly defined unemployment, or the seasonally adjusted composite underutilized labor rate, increased by 3.8 points from the previous month to 29.2 percent in June 2024.

The measure combines time-related underemployment, potential labor force, and unemployment. In other words, the indicator reflects a realistic picture of unemployment as it includes people who are only seasonally employed and those who have stopped searching for jobs despite being unemployed.

The combined rate of time-related underemployment and unemployment was estimated at 20.2 percent, while the combined rate of unemployment and potential labor force was estimated at 19.5 percent.