In Turkey, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.7 points to 8.7% in 2024, reaching the lowest level in 12 years. The Turkish Statistical Institute released labor statistics for the year 2024, revealing that the number of unemployed individuals aged 15 and over decreased by 151 thousand compared to the previous year, totaling 3 million 113 thousand people.

The unemployment rate in 2024 decreased by 0.7 points from the previous year to 8.7%, marking the lowest level in the past 12 years. The estimated unemployment rate was 7.1% for males and 11.8% for females.

EMPLOYMENT RATE INCREASED The number of employed individuals increased by 988 thousand to 32 million 620 thousand people in 2024, with an employment rate increase of 1.2 points to 49.5%. This rate was 66.9% for males and 32.5% for females. LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION GREW The labor force increased by 837 thousand individuals to 35 million 733 thousand people in 2024, with a labor force participation rate rising by 0.9 points to 54.2%. The labor force participation rate was 72% for males and 36.8% for females. YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT DECLINED The unemployment rate in the young population aged 15-24 decreased by 1.1 points to 16.3% in 2024 compared to the previous year. For this age group, the estimated unemployment rate was 13.1% for males and 22.3% for females. 6 OUT OF 10 WORK IN THE SERVICE SECTOR Of the employed individuals, 14.8% were in agriculture, 20.7% in industry, 6.6% in construction sector, 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 stable.

In 2024, 4 million 827 thousand people 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 agriculture, 35 thousand in industry, 165 thousand in construction, and 656 thousand in the service sector.

UNUSED LABOR FORCE AT 26.7% The underemployment, potential labor force, and unemployed individuals combined to give an unused labor force rate of 26.7% in 2024, which increased by 3.9 points from the previous year. The combined rate of underemployment and unemployed individuals was 18.1%, while the rate of unemployed and potential labor force integrated was 18.4%. LOWEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATES IN PROVINCES The provinces with the lowest unemployment rates were Burdur and Kastamonu at 4%, while the highest unemployment rate of 18.3% was recorded in Hakkari. 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%, whereas Siirt had the lowest at 41.6%.