Jobless rate hits record low, Şimşek pledges productivity push

ANKARA

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said Türkiye would continue productivity-focused labor policies after the country’s unemployment rate fell to a record low in June.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate declined by 0.5 percentage points from the previous month to 7.6 percent, the lowest level since monthly records began in 2005, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

The number of unemployed people decreased by 168,000 to 2.69 million, while employment rose by 227,000 to 32.73 million. The employment rate increased by 0.3 percentage points to 48.9 percent.

Şimşek said the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate averaged 8.1 percent in the first half of the year, 0.3 percentage points lower than in the same period of 2025.

“Productivity growth is critical to achieving our country’s long-term development goals,” Şimşek wrote on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

The government would continue policies aimed at making the labor market more efficient, improving human capital and supporting high-value-added production, he added.