[REVISION HISTORY]

Turkey economic data shows mixed trade, inflation, and labor

44 recorded revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-10-27 10:47 UTC → 2026-10-28 08:15 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Turkey’s economic landscape is defined by high inflation and a shifting labor market. While consumer-price inflation was 31.75% in July 2026, financial sector year-end forecasts have risen to 30.47%. Food prices have risen for 75 consecutive months; by September 2026, red meat prices exceeded 1,000 lira per kilogram. Rising costs have driven middle-income households to prepare winter food stocks through traditional canning and preserving. In the agricultural sector, tomato prices saw a 53.66% annual increase in September 2026. Industrial and sectoral performance remains mixed. The Real Sector Confidence Index rose slightly to 102.5 in September 2026, though manufacturing production and export order expectations showed signs of weakening. The construction sector saw its first contraction since 2022 in the second quarter of 2026, despite rising construction expenditures. Within this sector, labor costs rose 30.51% annually, outpacing a 27.13% increase in material costs. In retail, while mall visitor traffic increased in August 2026, real spending contracted by 6.5% due to inflation. The labor market shows a structural shift toward services. While the official unemployment rate has remained in single digits for approximately 40 months—standing at 7.8% in August 2026—the underutilization rate increased to 31.0%. By September 2026, the narrow unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points to 8.4%, with youth unemployment (ages 15-24) increasing to 14.8%. A significant gap exists between official and broad unemployment metrics; research by DİSK-AR indicates that broadly defined jobless numbers, including underemployed and potential labor, reached 12.762 million in September 2026, a rate of 31.2%. ~~Labor Minister Vedat Işıkhan has emphasized policies~~ In foreign trade, Turkey’s deficit narrowed by 25.8% in September 2026 to 5.163 billion dollars. This was driven by a 15.3% increase ~~female~~ in exports to 25.967 billion dollars, while imports grew by 5.6% to 31.130 billion dollars. Excluding energy and ~~youth participation as part of~~ gold, the ~~2027-2029 Medium Term Program.~~ trade deficit was significantly lower at 541 million dollars.

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