In 2004 the countrywide employment rate (15+) in Turkey was 22.9 percent for females, and
64.7 percent for males. The figures in rural areas were considerably higher (F: 35.5, M: 69.3)
than in urban areas (F: 15, M: 62). The differences by location reflect the vital role of
agriculture in employment (estimated at around 7.4 million, amounting to 34 percent of the
total) and the continuing importance of family farming practices. The differences by gender
reflect the predominant form of division of labour in the household, which assigns the male
head the breadwinning role, and his wife the care taking role. The public sector employed
13.6 percent of the work force (21.8 million) in 2004. Females accounted for 20.9 percent of
public sector employment, 17.2 percent of non-agricultural, and 44.6 percent of agricultural
employment.
In 2004 the unemployment rate was 10.3 percent countrywide (F: 9.7, M: 10.5), and
significantly higher in urban areas (F: 17.9, M: 12.5) compared to rural areas (F: 3.2, M: 7.3),
especially in the case of women. The high unemployment/low employment rates recorded in
urban areas reflect the lingering effects of the economic crises in 2000 and 2001, which had
a huge toll in the labour market (see Tunali et al., 2003). Although the economy rebounded in
2002 and grew at an average annual rate of 7.5 percent over the 2002-04 period, the
recovery has not produced job growth. There is evidence that the length of the work week
increased during this time, and reached a record 50.7 hours in 2003 in the case of regular
wage and salary earners (F: 47, M: 51.7). A marked increase in informal employment
arrangements has been another consequence. In 2004, 20.9 percent of all regular wage and
salary workers, and 34 percent of the non-agricultural work force were outside the coverage
of the social security system.