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Türkiye’s labor-intensive manufacturing sectors are experiencing widespread job losses, with the apparel and textile industries alone accounting for over 116,000 layoffs as of September compared to the same month last year, data from the Social Security Institution (SGK) showed.
According to the Employment Monitoring Bulletin released by the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Türkiye (TEPAV), which is based on SGK figures, 37 out of 88 sub-sectors recorded a year-on-year decline in the number of registered wage earners, highlighting a broad contraction in employment across many sub-sectors.
Total registered employment, including workers paying the Social Security Support Premium (SGDP), reached 26.15 million in September, up 2.2% year over year.
The apparel manufacturing sector saw the sharpest decline, losing 78,825 employees compared with the previous year, a drop of 11.8%.
Textile product manufacturing followed with 37,140 job losses, while office administration and support services shed 28,001 workers.
The downturn in these sectors, historically known for their labor intensity and export orientation, reflects ongoing strains from shrinking global demand, rising labor and input costs and increasing competition from Egypt.
Beyond these headline sectors, information service activities experienced the fastest proportional decline at 42.3%, followed by water collection and distribution at 17.4% and coal and lignite extraction at 14.1%.
The construction sector, which also leads the country's GDP growth, remained the strongest source of new employment.
Building construction added 145,070 workers year-on-year, followed by retail trade with 128,334 new employees.
Food and beverage services gained 68,175 registered workers, while education recorded an increase of 49,089.
Human health and social services also continued to expand, with a 4.7% annual rise, while transportation and storage recorded a 1.7% increase.
Cultural, entertainment, and sports sectors saw an 8.1% employment gain, and real estate activities posted a 13.7% jump, continuing a trend of strong growth since early 2025.
Türkiye’s total number of active businesses rose by 57,821 over the past year, increasing 2.6% to 2.28 million in September.
Retail trade recorded the largest increase in business count, adding 36,671 new establishments.
Household employment activities gained 15,751 businesses, followed by food and beverage services (9,860) and building construction (6,714).
Programming and broadcasting activities saw the fastest proportional growth in business numbers at 65%, followed by household employment at 53.5%.
Istanbul remained the province with the largest concentration of businesses, accounting for 26.8% of all establishments, followed by Ankara (7.4%), Izmir (6.7%), Antalya (4.5%), and Bursa (4.2%).
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