Turkey’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 8.1% in January 2026 from a marginally revised from a record low of 7.8% in the previous month. The number of unemployed declined by 73,000 to a 2.82 million. Meanwhile, total employment dropped by 516,000 to 31.95 million, bringing the employment rate eased to 47.9% from 48.7%, marking the lowest level since March 2023. By gender, the employment rate eased slipped for both men (65.3% vs. 66.5%) and women (30.9% vs. 31.4%). Labor force participation rate was down to 52.1% from 52.9% in December, pointing to the lowest figure since February 2022. Meanwhile, youth unemployment was little changed (14.3% vs 14.2%).