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Türkiye’s broad unemployment rate climbed to 31.5% in March, rising 1.6 percentage points from the previous month and returning to its record high last seen in June 2025, official data showed.
The measure, which combines time-related underemployment, potential labor force, and unemployed individuals, corresponds to roughly 9.9 million people.
In contrast, the standard unemployment rate edged down by 0.3 percentage points to 8.1%, a decline of 96,000 people to 2.9 million, covering those actively seeking work and available to start within two weeks.
Employment rose by 226,000 in March from the previous month to reach 32.4 million, with the employment rate edging up 0.3 percentage points to 48.5%, while the labor force grew by 129,000 to 35.3 million and participation ticked up slightly to 52.8%.
Unemployment stood at 6.8% for men and 10.7% for women, while youth unemployment (ages 15–24) fell by 0.5 percentage points month-on-month to 15.3%.
Average weekly actual working hours, adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects, fell by 0.8 hours to 41.7 hours in March.
Meanwhile, the combined rate of time-related underemployment and unemployment was estimated at 21%, while the combined rate of unemployed and potential labor force stood at 20.4%.
Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz drew attention to the resilience of the Turkish labor market, saying it "remains stable at single-digit levels despite regional tensions," while noting it marked the 35th consecutive month in single digits.
He highlighted that youth unemployment fell by 0.5 percentage points and women’s unemployment by 0.8 points month-on-month. "We aim to further strengthen the labor market and reduce unemployment through our policies," he said.
He also emphasized that authorities rolled out coordinated measures across sectors to cushion the impact of regional conflicts.
"We expect the steps under the Strong Center Program for Investments in the Century of Türkiye to pave the way for new investments and increase employment," he added, referring to pledged initiatives under Turkiye’s new investment program aimed at attracting global capital.
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