The unemployment rate in Turkey fell by 0.1 percentage points compared with the previous quarter, standing at 8.2% during the first quarter of 2026, according to unemployment data published on 18 May by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), which nevertheless shows a decline in employment levels.
According to the Household Labour Force Survey, the number of unemployed people aged 15 and over fell by 52,000 compared to the previous quarter, reaching a total of 2,894,000 unemployed. The unemployment rate stood at 6.8% for men and 11.1% for women, according to TÜİK.
As for the labour force participation rate in the Eurasian country, it fell by 0.7 percentage points to 52.6% during the first quarter of this year; by gender, participation in the labour market stood at 70.5% among men, whilst among women it was 35.2%.
As for youth unemployment – referring to those aged between 15 and 24 – it remained unchanged from the previous quarter at 15.2%. In this age group, the unemployment rate stood at 12.6% for men and 20.4% for women.
Employment declines across all economic sectors
Overall, the number of employed fell by 301,000 compared with the previous quarter to stand at 32,221,000 workers, meaning the employment rate fell by 0.5 percentage points to 48.3%. Among men, this figure stood at 65.7%, whilst among women it was 31.3%.
Compared with the previous quarter, employment fell across all major economic sectors. The largest decline was recorded in services, with a loss of 189,000 jobs, whilst construction lost 48,000 jobs; this was followed by agriculture with 44,000 fewer employees and manufacturing, with a reduction of 20,000 workers.
As for the overall distribution of employment by sector, services continued to account for the largest share of employment, accounting for 59.3% of the total, followed by industry with 20.2%, agriculture with 13.8% and construction with 6.7%.
Finally, the latest statistical report on unemployment in Turkey also analyses the average number of actual hours worked per week, which – adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects – was estimated at 42.2 hours, representing a fall of 0.3 hours compared with the previous quarter.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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