DİSK-AR Report: Turkey's Broadly Defined Unemployment Rate is Three Times the EU Average

ANKARA - The Research Center of the Revolutionary Workers' Unions Confederation (DİSK-AR) has published its "Unemployment and Employment Outlook" report for the second quarter of 2025. The report reveals a grim picture of Turkey's labor market, with the broadly defined unemployment rate standing at 32 percent, nearly three times the European Union average.

Real Unemployment Exceeds 13 Million

While the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) reported the narrow-defined, seasonally adjusted unemployment number as 3.034 million for the second quarter of 2025, DİSK-AR's calculations based on TÜİK data paint a much different reality. According to the report, the number of broadly defined unemployed people—which includes those who have lost hope of finding a job, those who are ready to work but have stopped looking, and those who are underemployed—rose to 13.015 million. This figure represents an increase of 1.5 million in the last three months. The gap between the narrow and broad unemployment rates is a staggering 23.4 percentage points in Turkey, in stark contrast to the 5.2 points difference in the EU average.

The "Invisible Iceberg" of Employment: Low Rate of Registered and Full-Time Jobs

The DİSK-AR report not only focuses on unemployment figures but also on the quality of employment. The "Registered and Full-Time Employment (KATİ)" metric reveals that out of a working-age population of 66.3 million, only 22.5 million are employed in registered, full-time jobs. While TÜİK's official employment rate is announced as 49.2 percent, the KATİ rate remains at a low 33.9 percent. This indicates that a significant portion of Turkey's employment is informal, underemployed, or precarious, highlighting deep structural problems in the labor market.

A Dire Outlook for Women and Youth Unemployment

The report emphasizes the particularly severe unemployment problem among women and youth. The broadly defined unemployment rate for women is calculated at 40.7 percent, significantly higher than the 26.8 percent for men. The situation for young women is even more critical; the broadly defined unemployment rate for young women aged 15-24 reached 53.4 percent, while it was 34.5 percent for young men in the same age group. DİSK-AR notes that the youth broad unemployment rate has risen by 15.6 percentage points since the AKP came to power in 2002, increasing from 26 percent to 41.7 percent.

Reasons for Turkey's High Broad Unemployment

According to DİSK-AR, the main reasons for Turkey's exceptionally high broadly defined unemployment are the poor quality of employment and the structural issues of the labor market. The rapid increase in the number of discouraged workers and underemployed individuals continues to drive up the broad unemployment rates. The report underlines that the wide gap between narrow and broad unemployment rates in Turkey is far above the EU average, underscoring the severity of the country's employment crisis.