Türkiye’s unemployment rate edges down to 8.2 percent in first quarter
Türkiye’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate ticked down by 0.1 percentage points quarter-on-quarter to 8.2 percent in the first quarter of 2026, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) released on May 18.
The number of unemployed individuals aged 15 and older decreased by 52,000 compared to the final quarter of 2025, falling to 2.89 million people during the January-March period.
The unemployment rate recorded at 6.8 percent for men and at 11.1 percent for women. The country’s labor force participation rate dropped by 0.7 percentage points to 52.6 percent in the first quarter. By gender, the labor force participation rate stood at 70.5 percent for men, while the rate for women was estimated at 35.2 percent.
The youth unemployment rate, among those aged 15-24, was 15.2 percent, unchanged from the previous quarter. The unemployment rate in this age group is estimated at 12.6 percent for men and 20.4 percent for women
