Türkiye’s jobless rate in 2024 hit 12-year low of 8.7 percent

ANKARA

Türkiye’s unemployment rate in 2024 dropped 0.7 percentage points to a 12-year low of 8.7 percent signaling a steady recovery in the job market, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed on March 20.

The number of jobless aged 15 and over fell by 151,000 from the previous year, bringing the total to 3.11 million.

Unemployment among men dropped from 7.7 percent in 2023 to 7.1 percent in 2024, while the rate for women dropped from 12.6 percent to 11.8 percent.

Meanwhile, labor force participation declined 0.9 percentage points to 54.2 percent.

However, the employment rate climbed to 49.5 percent, up from 48.3 percent the previous year, reflecting a workforce of 32.62 million people.

Youth unemployment (aged 15-24) also showed improvement, falling 1.1 percentage points to 16.3 percent.

The rate for young men stood at 13.1 percent, while for young women it was 22.3 percent, down from 14.3 percent and 23.2 percent in 2023, respectively.

The services sector employed a total of 18.9 million people in 2024, up from 18.23 million in the previous year, TÜİK data also showed.

The services sector accounted for 57.9 percent of total employment in the country, followed by 20.7 percent in industry or 6.75 million people last year, up from 6.71 million in 2023.

Employment in agriculture rose from 4.7 million to 4.83 million (14.8 percent in total), while in the construction sector increased from around 2 million to 2.16 million (6.6 percent).