Labour Service
Real unemployment remains at its peak, and Turkish Statistical Institute’s (TÜİK) narrowly defined unemployment calculation continues to render millions of unemployed people invisible. While the real number of unemployed approached 12.2 million, women and young people became the segments of society most affected by unemployment.
According to the labour force data for April announced by TÜİK, narrowly defined unemployment stood at 8.2 per cent. On the other hand, the broadly defined unemployment rate, which reflects the idle labour force that TÜİK does not count as unemployed, was calculated as 30.1 per cent.
Although broadly defined unemployment decreased by 1.2 percentage points compared to the previous month, it continues its trend close to the peak witnessed during the pandemic period.
According to TÜİK, the number of narrowly defined unemployed individuals decreased by 5,000 people, dropping to 2,868,000; however, DİSK-AR (Research Centre of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey) calculated the real number of unemployed as 12,188,000 people. The two-year increase in the number of broadly defined unemployed stood at 1.9 million.
YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT RAISES AN ALARM
The unemployment rate among the youth population in the 15-24 age bracket was recorded at 14.5 per cent in April. Unemployment was calculated at 12 per cent for young men and 19.4 per cent for young women. Looking at the idle labour force indicators, the combined rate of time-related underemployment and potential labour force was 19.3 per cent, while the integrated rate of unemployed and potential labour force was determined as 20.5 per cent.
In the DİSK-AR report, it was stated, "In all four distinct types of unemployment announced by TÜİK, female unemployment continues to be considerably higher than male unemployment."
THE GAP BETWEEN GENDERS HAS WIDENED FURTHER
In April, the seasonally adjusted narrowly defined unemployment rate was 6.8 per cent for men, whereas it was 11 per cent for women. The broadly defined unemployment rate, which reflects the real unemployment rate, was calculated as 24 per cent for men and 40.1 per cent for women. The gap between broadly defined female unemployment and broadly defined male unemployment reached 16.1 percentage points. The number of real unemployed women was calculated as 6,158,000 people.
The report stated, "The increase within the scope of time-related underemployment continues rapidly. The number of those working fewer than 40 hours per week and wishing to work more if given the opportunity—those underemployed based on time—has risen from 3.3 million to 3.9 million in the last two years, increasing by 587,000 people." Accordingly, 3.9 million people work fewer than 40 hours per week and wish to work more.
The potential labour force has increased by 1.5 million people over the last 2 years, rising from 3.9 million to 5.4 million. In the country, 5.4 million people cannot find employment despite their willingness to work.
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Hayalet işsiz ordusu TÜİK verisine sığmıyor, published in BirGün newspaper on June 5, 2026.
