In Turkey, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.7 points to 8.7% in 2024. As a result, the unemployment rate reached the lowest level in 12 years.

The Turkish Statistical Institute announced the labor force statistics for 2024. The number of unemployed individuals aged 15 and over decreased by 151 thousand to 3 million 113 thousand in 2024 compared to the previous year.

The unemployment rate fell to 8.7% in 2024, a decrease of 0.7 points from the previous year, marking the lowest level in the last 12 years. The unemployment rate was estimated at 7.1% for men and 11.8% for women.

EMPLOYMENT RATE INCREASED
The number of employed individuals increased by 988 thousand to 32 million 620 thousand, with the employment rate rising by 1.2 points to 49.5% in 2024. This rate was 66.9% for men and 32.5% for women.

LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION ROSE
In 2024, the labor force increased by 837 thousand to 35 million 733 thousand individuals, and the labor force participation rate rose by 0.9 points to 54.2%. The labor force participation rate was 72% for men and 36.8% for women.

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT DECLINED
The unemployment rate for the youth population aged 15-24 decreased by 1.1 points to 16.3% in 2024 compared to the previous year. For this age group, the unemployment rate was estimated at 13.1% for men and 22.3% for women.

6 OUT OF 10 IN THE SERVICE SECTOR
Of the employed individuals, 14.8% were in agriculture, 20.7% in industry, 6.6% in construction, and 57.9% in the service sector. Compared to the previous year, the share of the service and construction sectors in employment increased by 0.3 points while the share of the industry sector decreased by 0.5 points, and the share of the agriculture sector remained the same. In 2024, 4 million 827 thousand individuals were employed in the agriculture sector, 6 million 746 thousand in the industry sector, 2 million 162 thousand in the construction sector, and 18 million 886 thousand in the service sector. Compared to the previous year, the number of employed individuals increased by 132 thousand in the agriculture sector, 35 thousand in the industry sector, 165 thousand in the construction sector, and 656 thousand in the service sector.

IDLE LABOR FORCE AT 26.7%
The underemployment rate, consisting of time-related underemployment, potential labor force, and the unemployed, increased by 3.9 points to 26.7% in 2024 compared to the previous year. The integrated rate of time-related underemployment and the unemployed was 18.1%, while the integrated rate of the unemployed and potential labor force was 18.4%.

LOWEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATES BY PROVINCE
The provinces with the lowest unemployment rates were Burdur and Kastamonu at 4%, while the highest unemployment rate was recorded in Hakkari at 18.3%. Ardahan had the highest employment rate at 60.6%, while Hakkari had the lowest at 35.3%. Ardahan also had the highest labor force participation rate at 63.9%, while Siirt had the lowest at 41.6%.