Women's unemployment drops to single digits, lowest in 166 months

Women's unemployment rate fell to 9.8% in June, the lowest since September 2012, according to TÜİK. In the same period, the overall unemployment rate dropped to 7.6%, its lowest since January 2005.

Scraper SystemAugust 01, 2026, 07:51 PM

Women's unemployment drops to single digits, lowest in 166 months

Women's unemployment falls to 166-month low

According to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 7.6% in June, the lowest since January 2005. In the same period, the women's unemployment rate fell to 9.8%, entering single digits for the first time since September 2012, reaching a 166-month low.

Among women aged 15 and over, the labor force reached 12 million 2 thousand, with 10 million 831 thousand employed. The number of unemployed women fell to 1 million 171 thousand, the lowest since May 2016.

Historic drop among young women too

The unemployment rate in the 15-24 age group decreased by 1.8 points to 12.8% compared to the previous month. For young women, the rate reached 17.3%, the lowest since January 2014. Young women's employment rose to 1 million 581 thousand, while the number of unemployed young women fell to 331 thousand.

"Women's labor is a building block of growth"

Prof. Dr. Talha Yalta, Head of the Economics Department at TOBB University of Economics and Technology, described the women's unemployment rate falling to single digits as "a significant threshold." He noted that of the 227 thousand additional jobs created in June, 177 thousand were taken by women, meaning roughly 78% of new jobs went to women.

Yalta emphasized that this improvement was not due to women giving up job-seeking, but because employment grew much faster even as new entrants continued to join the labor force. Pointing to the long-term effect of rising education levels among women, Yalta said, "The rate of higher education graduation among women aged 25-34 reached 50.3% in 2025. While labor force participation among women with higher education is 68.7%, it remains at 27.5% for those with less than high school education. Young women entering the workforce today carry a much greater accumulation of knowledge and skills than in the past."

Yalta noted that the expansion of the service sector has increased employment suitable for women in fields such as healthcare, education, trade, and finance, and that programs like İş Pozitif and the Positive Discrimination Project for Women's Employment (KİPAP) have lowered hiring costs and targeted concrete barriers through childcare support. "Women's labor is not a reserve force of the economy, but a fundamental building block of growth," Yalta said, adding that the June data showed strong labor demand, targeted policies, and rising human capital beginning to complement each other.

Women's unemployment drops to single digits, lowest in 166 months

Women's unemployment rate fell to 9.8% in June, the lowest since September 2012, according to TÜİK. In the same period, the overall unemployment rate dropped to 7.6%, its lowest since January 2005.