Contradiction in Female Labor Force in TÜİK Unemployment Data: Decrease Not Driven by Employment

Source of the Decline in Unemployment Rates The Household Labor Force Survey results for the fourth quarter of 2025, announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), showed that the unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 8.2%.
The total number of unemployed persons decreased by 58,000 compared to the previous quarter, falling to 2,913,000.
However, the details of the data revealed structural differences in the labor market.
Employment Growth for Men, Labor Force Loss for Women According to an analysis by economist Seyfettin Gürsel, the decline in unemployment occurred through opposite dynamics in the male and female labor markets.
While male employment increased by 156,000 and the unemployment rate fell to 6.7%, signaling a healthy recovery, the situation for women was different.
Although the unemployment rate for women dropped to 11.1%, it was determined that this was not due to an increase in employment, but rather because women withdrew from the labor market entirely.
Agricultural Sector and Exit from the Labor Force Data shows a loss of 41,000 in female employment and 111,000 in the female labor force during the second half of 2025.
A significant portion of this loss originated from the agricultural sector, where female employment decreased by 71,000 in six months.
In non-agricultural sectors, female employment increased by only 30,000, indicating a stagnation in growth in this area.
Gürsel emphasized the need for an in-depth investigation into why women, losing hope of finding work, are exiting the labor market.