Turkey's September unemployment rate rises to 8.4 percent

Turkey's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points in September 2026 to reach 8.4 percent, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. The number of unemployed people aged 15 and over increased by 198,000 compared with the previous month, reaching 2.967 million.

The unemployment rate was 6.9 percent for men and 11.3 percent for women. Among young people aged 15 to 24, the rate stood at 14.8 percent, up 1.6 points from the previous month, with rates of 10.4 percent for young men and 23.3 percent for young women.

“The unemployment rate was 6.9 percent for men and 11.3 percent for women.”

Employment fell by 49,000 people month-on-month to 32.445 million, pushing the employment rate down 0.1 points to 48.3 percent. The rate was 65.8 percent for men and 31.2 percent for women.

The labor force grew by 149,000 people to 35.412 million, while the labor force participation rate rose 0.1 points to 52.7 percent. Participation was 70.7 percent for men and 35.2 percent for women.

Average actual weekly working hours decreased by 0.1 hours to 42.4 hours. The combined rate of time-related underemployment and unemployed people was 20.5 percent, while the combined rate of unemployed people and potential labor force was 20.7 percent.

The underemployment, potential labor force, and unemployment combined rate rose 0.2 points to 31.2 percent.