Unemployment rate declines to 8.8 percent in July

ISTANBUL

Türkiye's unemployment rate declined from 9.2 percent in June to 8.8 percent in July, according to data released on Sept. 10.

The number of unemployed people fell by 112,000 from a month earlier to 3.2 million as of July, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) data showed.

In July, the unemployment rate was 7 percent for men (down from 7.5 percent) and 12.4 percent for women (unchanged from June).

There were 65.9 million people in Türkiye aged 15 and above as of July, with the workforce at 35.9 million people. Some 32.7 million people in the country were employed in July.

The labor force participation rate, thus, inched up from 54.3 percent in June to 54.4 percent in July, while the employment rate rose from 49.3 percent to 49.6 percent.

Youth unemployment, defined as those aged 15-24, fell from 17.6 percent to 16.6 percent.

In July, the jobless rate was 12.2 percent for men (14.4 percent in June) and 25 percent for women (24 percent in June).

The government forecasts that the unemployment rate will be 9.3 percent at the end of 2024 and that the jobless rate will climb to 9.6 percent next year before easing to 9.2 percent in 2026.