FX.co ★ Turkish Jobless Rate Rises from December's Record Low

Turkey’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 8.1% in January 2026, up from a marginally revised record low of 7.8% in December. The number of unemployed fell by 73,000 to 2.82 million. At the same time, total employment declined by 516,000 to 31.95 million, pushing the employment rate down to 47.9% from 48.7%, its lowest level since March 2023. By gender, the employment rate slipped for both men (65.3% vs. 66.5%) and women (30.9% vs. 31.4%). The labor force participation rate decreased to 52.1% from 52.9% in December, reaching its lowest level since February 2022. Meanwhile, youth unemployment was little changed, edging up to 14.3% from 14.2%.