Three million people in Turkey are officially unemployed, a rate of 8.5 percent that remains unchanged since the second quarter of the year, according to Labor Force Statistics from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

The official unemployment rate was 9.2 percent in the third quarter of 2023 and 8.7 percent in the third quarter of last year. But amid a deep economic crisis, high interest rates, tight monetary policy, and declining investment, the apparent decline in unemployment does not reflect reality. As with official inflation calculations, the unemployment rate is based on controversial criteria that are designed to meet government targets.

A more accurate picture of unemployment levels in Turkey is the labour force participation rate, which measures the total number of employed and unemployed people able to work. While there is a working-age population of 66.5 million (aged 15 and over), the labor force stands at 35.5 million, for a labor force participation rate of 53.5 percent. This is low by international standards. The global labour force participation rate was 61 per cent in 2024, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO). In the European Union, the labor force participation rate was 75.8 percent in the second quarter of 2025.

When measured against Turkey’s 32.5 million jobs, the ratio of working people to the working-age population is 49 percent. This means that one in every two working-age people is not working. Despite this, the unemployment rate remains at 8.5 percent due to the criteria used to classify someone as unemployed.

Economist Mahfi Eğilmez lists the criteria required for a person aged 15 and over to be officially considered unemployed as follows: (1) Not having worked for even a single day in any paid or unpaid job in the last 4 weeks; (2) Having used at least one job search channel in the last 4 weeks; and (3) Being available to start work within 2 weeks.

This means those working in temporary jobs, those who have not applied to an employment agency in the last month, the chronically unemployed, or those who have lost hope of finding work are not counted as unemployed. For these reasons a more accurate measure of the unemployment rate in Turkey is “broad-based unemployment.”

When considering underemployment, potential labor force, and the unemployed, it becomes clear that unemployment has risen steadily and sharply. According to TurkStat data, the broad-based unemployment rate was 29.4 percent in the third quarter of 2025. This rate was 22.6 percent in the same period of 2023 and 26.8 percent in the same period of 2024.

While employment increased in the services and construction sectors compared to the previous quarter, the industrial sector saw a 147,000 decrease. The decline in industrial jobs does not mean a decline in production. According to TurkStat’s October production index data, industrial production increased by 2.88 percent on an annual basis.

A decline in employment coupled with an increase in production means an increase in the rate of exploitation. According to a recent report in Evrensel newspaper, “The average actual weekly working hours rose from 42.9 hours at the end of last year to 43.9 hours. This means that the average worker in Turkey now works four hours more than the legal weekly working hours.”

The sector that saw the sharpest decline in industrial employment was textiles and apparel. Apparel Manufacturing decreased by 81,000 people (13.14 percent) over the past year, falling to 538,756 people. Textile Product Manufacturing also declined by 42,000 people (9.18 percent) during the same period, falling to 423,547 employees. The number of workers in these sectors has fallen below even the levels seen in 2020, when the pandemic began and partial lockdowns were in place.

These sectors, which rely heavily on exports, have declined due to tight fiscal policies, such as high interest rates and low exchange rate policies. The effects of supply chain disruptions and increased customs duties are also being felt. However, the entire burden of the sector’s decline has fallen on workers.

Company owners evade paying workers’ due wages and compensation by declaring bankruptcy or entering concordat agreements after complaining about high wages and costs. Many are shifting production to Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs) in Egypt, where the minimum wage is less than one-third of that in Turkey (the monthly minimum wage in Egypt is approximately $150, while in Turkey it is $520). Goods produced in QIZs in Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories can access the US market directly, without tariff or quota restrictions, subject to certain conditions.

Abdullah Kiğılı, a leading capitalist in Turkey’s ready-to-wear sector, said last month: “The state has abandoned ready-to-wear and textiles. Matters are getting to the point where we will have trouble finding manufacturers. This is the biggest disaster awaiting us. Production will stop in six months. Factories in Anatolia are closing. Production is shifting to Egypt.”

Textile companies have made enormous profits for decades through government subsidies and intense worker exploitation. Now, these companies are eliminating jobs and trying to seize accumulated wages and compensation, pushing workers to resist.

In Tokat city, 800 workers at the Şık Makas textile factory, which ranks among Turkey’s 500 largest industrial companies, launched a work stoppage at the beginning of October after not receiving their wages for 66 days. After the walkout, the workers were dismissed without receiving severance pay. In support of them, the people of Tokat city gave significant backing to the “Bread and Justice Rally” held last Sunday.

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Workers are not only fighting against the company, but also against the destructive role played by the Öz İplik-İş Union, affiliated with the Hak-İş confederation. A worker speaking to Birgün said: “The Öz İplik-İş representative told us, ‘The boss is powerful, we are no match for him.’ He tried to force us to start work even though we hadn’t been paid. He hurled insults at us that even the boss wouldn’t say. He attacked the workers and beat up a female worker. Is this what unionism is all about?”

Workers at Şık Makas face state pressure and threats. The summons of worker representative Buse Kara for questioning on November 10 over social media posts, her referral to court on charges of “threatening President Erdoğan,” and the imposition of house arrest constitute an attempt to intimidate all workers. Kara must be freed immediately.

The problems faced by Şık Makas workers are the same as those faced by their class brothers and sisters around the world. On the day the workers held their rally, the International Workers’ Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) held a meeting calling for the organization of a global movement of the working class against mass layoffs. The main focus of the meeting, where workers from various sectors worldwide made statements, was the massive wave of layoffs.

An IWA-RCF statement following the meeting emphasized the global nature of the capitalist offensive:

US companies have announced 1.1 million layoffs so far this year, a 65 percent increase over 2022… The crisis is international. In the German auto industry alone, 90,000 jobs are set to be eliminated by 2030. Thousands of autoworkers are being laid off across Europe, the United States and other countries, as workers are forced to bear the cost of slumping sales and the impact of tariffs on global supply chains.

The statement explained how the capitalist class is using artificial intelligence as a weapon against workers, citing the World Economic Forum’s prediction that 92 million jobs will be lost due to AI by 2030.

The IWA-RCF calls on workers to fight for workers’ power and control over production, against layoffs, longer, more intense, and insecure work, and the workplace fatalities caused by these conditions. This means fighting for socialism, under which all productive forces, including artificial intelligence, will be used for the needs of society rather than private profit. It is essential to build a network of rank-and-file committees to rebel against the union apparatus serving the state and corporations and to advance the struggle.