We are reaching peak unemployment

The change in economic management after the presidential elections promised that “rational policies” would be applied, but the army of unemployed in Turkey grows day by day. In this context, Turkey aspires to occupy first place in the world, with a number of real unemployed that exceeds 9 million. Turkey was the country with the lowest employment rate among the 38 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In August 2023, Turkey was among the four countries with the highest unemployment rate.

APPROACHING THE SUMMIT

According to OECD data, Türkiye also came close to the top in the labor force participation rate. Türkiye ranked third among OECD members. The labor force participation rate in Turkey in the second quarter of 2023 was 53.3 percent. Countries where labor force participation was lower than Turkey were Italy at 49.8 percent and Greece at 52.4 percent. While the labor force participation rate was 57.9 percent in the EU, it was 60.9 percent in OECD members. The country with the highest labor participation rate was Iceland at 75.4 percent. Iceland was followed by New Zealand with 72.4 percent and the Netherlands with 68.4 percent. The rate in question was announced as 62.6 percent in the US and 61.6 percent in Germany.

In August 2023, the country with the highest unemployment rate was Spain at 11.5 percent. Greece came in second with 10.9 percent, while Colombia came in third with 9.2 percent. Türkiye ranked fourth with 9.2 percent. The country with the lowest unemployment rate was South Korea at 2.4 percent. According to OECD data, the unemployment rate, which in Germany was 3 percent, in France was 7.3 percent.

We are the last in employment.

According to OECD data based on figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute, the employment rate in Turkey for people aged 15 to 64 in the second quarter of 2023 was 53.6 percent. This rate reached 70.1 percent in the OECD and 70.5 percent in the EU. Türkiye ranked last on the list with this rate. Iceland topped the list with an employment rate of 84.7. Iceland was followed by the Netherlands with 80.5 and Switzerland with 80.7.