Türkiye's unemployment down to historic low of 7.7% in December

Türkiye's unemployment rate decreased to a historic low of 7.7% in December, the country's statistical authority said Thursday.

This was the lowest rate on record, which began in Jan. 2005.

The rate was down from November's 8.5%, according to data by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

The number of unemployed people aged 15 and over was down by 286,000 to 2.73 million in December.

Joblessness stood at 6.3% among men and 10.5% among women in the same period.

Meanwhile, employment also declined, with 42,000 fewer people working, bringing the total number of employed to 32.68 million.

The overall employment rate was down to 49.1%, including 66.8% for men and 32.7% for women.

The labor force also decreased by 328,000 to 35.42 million, with the participation rate at 53.2%.

Youth unemployment—covering those aged 15 to 24—fell 1.1 percentage points from November to 14.1% in December. It was 12% for men and 18.2% for women.

In 2025 as a whole, Türkiye's unemployment rate stood at around 8.3% on average.