TÜİK (Turkish Statistical Institute) data has revealed that the army of young people in the country who are unemployed and have lost hope for the future is continuously growing. While TÜİK’s headline unemployment rate for the first quarter of the year was calculated at 8.2 per cent, broad-defined unemployment rose to 30.4 per cent. Under TÜİK’s narrow definition, the number of unemployed individuals who used at least one active job-seeking channel within the last four weeks and were available to start work within two weeks stood at 2 million 894 thousand. However, when combined with those who have lost hope of finding a job and are not officially counted as unemployed, those who state a willingness to work despite not actively seeking a job, and those working part-time but wishing to work full-time, the actual number of unemployed—expressed as broad-defined unemployment—rises to 13 million 265 thousand people.
Those who have lost hope of finding a job continue to present a pessimistic picture regarding future expectations. The number of people who have given up seeking work because they believe they cannot find a job approached 3 million in the first quarter. Increasing by 170 thousand people compared to the January–March 2025 period, the number of hopeless unemployed reached 2 million 949 thousand. Among these hopeless unemployed, who outnumber the officially registered unemployed, 22 out of every 100 people are young individuals in the 15–24 age bracket, while 18 are in the 25–34 age group. Another striking trend among the hopeless unemployed is the pessimism seen among university graduates. With the addition of 55 thousand more people compared to the first quarter of 2025, 568 thousand university graduates have withdrawn from working life because they have lost hope of finding a job.
AN ARMY OF 6.8 MILLION PEOPLE
The population aged between 15 and 34, which constitutes the most dynamic segment within the workforce, either cannot find a job with decent working conditions or joins the ranks of the hopeless unemployed. In the first quarter of the year, 6 million 789 thousand young people in this age group were neither in education nor in employment (NEET). This figure represents 28.2 per cent of the total 15–34 age group population, which stands at 24 million 44 thousand. The NEET rate was 23.6 per cent in the 15–24 age group and 26.6 per cent in the 15–29 age group. Increasing by 50 thousand compared to the first quarter of 2025, the number of young individuals aged 15–24 who are neither in education nor in employment reached 2 million 699 thousand. Within this age group, 369 thousand university graduates are out of employment. In the first quarter of 2026, the labour force decreased by 353 thousand people compared to the previous quarter, falling to 35 million 116 thousand, while the labour force participation rate stood at 52.6 per cent. The labour force participation rate was 70.5 per cent for men, whereas it remained at just 35.2 per cent for women. The number of employed persons also decreased by 389 thousand compared to the same quarter of the previous year. The sharpest decline in employment occurred in industry. Compared to the first quarter of last year, the employment loss experienced in industry was 240 thousand people.
ONE IN FOUR YOUNG PEOPLE IS AT HOME
In the “Unemployment and Employment Outlook” report by DİSK-AR (Research Centre of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey), it was highlighted that, according to Eurostat data, Turkey is the country with the highest rate of NEET youth population among EU countries. One in every four young people in the country is neither in education nor in employment. Following Turkey, the three countries with the highest NEET rates in Europe are North Macedonia with 23.4 per cent, Bosnia and Herzegovina with 20 per cent, and Romania with 19.2 per cent. The three European countries with the lowest NEET rates are the Netherlands with 5.3 per cent, Sweden with 5.9 per cent, and Norway with 6.9 per cent.
I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO LIVE LIFE AS I PLEASED
A 24-year-old youth, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that they graduated from the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at Marmara University in 2025. The youth stated, “Right now, as a new graduate, I cannot practise my own profession. I apply for jobs related to my own department as well as other fields, but I rarely receive any feedback.”
Explaining that NEET youths are in a poor state psychologically, the individual said: “Particularly graduates who have just finished school fall into a void and feel useless. We cannot answer questions like ‘Have you found a job?’. We try to spend this period of unemployment as productively as possible, but only as far as our financial means allow. Sometimes it is difficult even to wake up in the morning and get out of bed. Actually, I do have hope for the future. I live in a very beautiful city and I would have loved to take advantage of every opportunity it offers. I would have liked to graduate, be valued, and live life as I pleased by performing my profession.”
I DID NOT IMAGINE MY STORY THIS WAY
Satı Nur Çiftçi, aged 25, described herself with these words: “I was born in a small village in Konya. I graduated third in my class from the Department of Journalism at Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University’s Faculty of Communication. But the real story begins precisely after this point. After graduating, I started working as a cashier in a supermarket. I am sure most of us did not imagine the end of this story like this. When I was a student, I had a very beautiful life, full of hope. I really wanted to practise my own profession. I even found an opportunity during my internship period. But like many sectors, they close their doors to new graduates, saying ‘no experience, no reference’. What is left is a supermarket checkout. I tried very hard, but no one gave me a chance. We are in a period where the value of studying is questioned. My father used to say ‘You will study, my daughter, and become a civil servant’, and I would reply ‘Father, I am studying journalism’. I became a cashier in the private sector. But this is not the end; perhaps it is just the beginning of my actual news story.”
LOW WAGES, HIGH MOBBING
A 35-year-old citizen, who wished to remain anonymous, is just one of those who are out of employment and sitting at home. According to their account, unemployment is a choice rather than a necessity for them. This is because low wages and rising inflation have, above all, driven them to hopelessness: “I cannot find a job because when I do enter employment, I cannot be satisfied financially in any way. The mobbing experienced particularly in the service sector has a very serious impact. I am at home because I cannot find a job suitable for the conditions. I am constantly looking for work, but due to both housing problems and other expenses, I cannot find the required salary. I do not accept jobs with salaries much lower than what is deserved. I am trying to do something online on my own. Because people do not receive the return for their labour, they look for a way out. This salary problem drives people to make money the easy way. Many young people target high returns with small amounts of money; they dream of this. For instance, betting… Hopelessness and helplessness lead precisely to these things.”
UNREGISTERED AND UNORGANISED
In the “Youth Labour Report” prepared by the Research Department of DİSK/Genel-İş (emar – General Services Workers’ Union of Turkey Research Department), the situation of young people in working life was analysed. According to emar’s research, the number of young people neither in education nor in employment (NEET) is growing steadily, while working youth are un organised and insecure.
6 out of 10 young people are outside of employment.Young women’s participation in employment is half that of men.Actual youth unemployment is more than double the narrow-defined rate.The actual unemployment rate among youth is 38.3 per cent, and 49.1 per cent among young women.Unemployment among university-graduate youth peaks at 23.5 per cent.When unregistered employment is included, only 3.8 per cent of young workers are unionised.
CHEAP LABOUR AT SCHOOL AGE
Eğitim-İş (Education and Science Workers’ Union) presented their report titled “Myths and Realities on MESEMs (Vocational Education Centres)”. According to the data compiled in the report, which drew attention once again to the fact that MESEMs serve as a legal cover for child labour:
Nearly 1.5 million children at the secondary education level in the country are outside of formal education.Under the guise of “vocational education”, over 560 thousand children are used as cheap labour in industry, workshops, and construction sites.MESEM is funded by transferring public resources to capital owners.The amount transferred from public resources to capital under the name of “employment incentives” has exceeded 7.1 billion TL.53.6 per cent of MESEM students face physical or psychological violence at the workplace.Within the scope of MESEM, 19 children lost their lives in workplace homicides (occupational accidents).Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Gençlik işsiz ve geleceksiz, published in BirGün newspaper on May 19, 2026.
Kaynak: BirGün