Turkey's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.8% in the second quarter of 2024, according to figures released today by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). The number of unemployed in the country stands at 3.15 million.
The number of employed reached 32.66 million, up by 205,000 from the previous quarter. The employment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 49.6%, with the rate for men at 67% and for women at 32.5%.
The labor underutilization rate, also termed as broadly defined unemployment, which includes time-related underemployment, potential labor force, and unemployment, rose by 2.2 percentage points to 27.3% in the second quarter.
The combined rate of time-related underemployment and unemployment was 19.2%, while the combined rate of the potential labor force and unemployment was 18%.
More than 20% of the unemployed in Turkey, amounting to 603,000 people, have been searching for a job for one year or longer. Among them, 432,000 individuals have been unemployed for more than one year but less than two years, 98,000 have been unemployed for more than two years but less than three years, and 73,000 have been without a job for three years or more."
Labor force
The seasonally adjusted labor force expanded by 228,000 people, totaling 35.82 million. The labor force participation rate increased by 0.3 percentage points to 54.4%, with men's participation at 72.3% and women's at 36.8%.
Sector-specific data revealed a decrease of 50,000 jobs in the industrial sector, while employment in agriculture increased by 56,000, in construction by 43,000, and in services by 157,000. The distribution of employment was 14.7% in agriculture, 20.5% in industry, 6.7% in construction, and 58.1% in services.
The average weekly working hours for those employed during the reference period increased by 0.4 hours from the previous quarter, reaching 44 hours. (VK)