The unemployment rate in Türkiye declined by 0.7 percentage points to hit a 12-year low of 8.7% in 2024, official data showed on Thursday as the number of jobless individuals dropped by over 150,000 in the year.
The figures were welcomed by top officials, who highlighted the rate was realized below the figure estimated in the medium-term program (MTP).
The Turkish government aims to boost employment, production and exports while curbing inflation.
The figures shared on Thursday by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) revealed that the number of jobless people aged 15 and over fell by 151,000 from the previous year to 3.113 million.
The unemployment rate was estimated at 7.1% for men and 11.8% for women in 2024, TurkStat said. This compared to 7.7% among men and 12.6% among women, a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate registered a 0.9 percentage points increase compared to the previous year and was realized at 54.2%.
The employment rate for persons aged 15 years and older, climbed to 49.5%, up from 48.3% the previous year, increasing by 988,000 to 32.62 million people.
Youth unemployment – for ages of 15 to 24 – also showed improvement, falling 1.1 percentage points to 16.3%. The rate for young men stood at 13.1%, while for young women it was 22.3%, down from 14.3% and 23.2% in 2023, respectively.
Referring to the figures shared by TurkStat, Labour and Social Security Minister Vedat Işıkhan said in a post on X that the lowest unemployment rate in the last 12 years was seen "below the 9.3% we had predicted in the Medium Term Program."
"Our employment numbers increased by 988,000 people in the same period, reaching 32.62 million," Işıkhan wrote.
"Our workforce increased by 837,000 people, reaching 35.73 million. The employment rate increased by 1.2 points to 49.5%. Our labor force participation rate also increased by 0.9 points to 54.2%," he added.
"We reached the highest employment and labor force participation rates in history. The decline in the unemployment rate continues in line with our National Employment Strategy and MTP targets. We will continue to maintain our determination to combat unemployment and our employment-supporting policies in the coming periods," he pledged.
Separately, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz also welcomed the figures, noting that, "While the labor force participation rate increases, unemployment continues to decrease and our economy continues to generate employment."
"The unemployment rate fell to 8.7% in 2024, an improvement beyond the MTP target, reaching its lowest level since 2012. Our employment increased by approximately 1 million people, reaching 32.6 million people in 2024. While the labor force participation rate among women and youth is increasing, the decrease in unemployment is a pleasing development," he commented on X.
