BETAM: Gender Disparity in Youth Unemployment Rates Soars to 10.2 Points in Q3
According to BETAM's study, the gender gap in unemployment rates among young women and men rose from 8.4 points to 10.2 points in light of the third quarter data.
The report stated: "According to seasonally adjusted data, the number of employed individuals in the third quarter of 2024 increased by 136,000 compared to the previous quarter, reaching 32 million 734 thousand, while the number of unemployed decreased by 20,000, resulting in a net increase of 116,000 in the labor force. The unemployment rate, which had shown a declining trend since the last quarter of 2019, remained stable at 8.8 for three consecutive quarters as of the fourth quarter of 2023. In the third quarter of 2024, while an overall increase in employment was observed, the limited decrease in the number of unemployed resulted in a 0.1 point drop in the unemployment rate, bringing it to 8.7 percent.
According to seasonally adjusted sectoral employment data, there was an increase of 110,000 in the service sector (0.6 percent). Employment in construction rose by 12,000 (0.6 percent), while industrial employment increased by 46,000 (0.7 percent). Conversely, agricultural employment decreased by 32,000 (0.7 percent) compared to the previous quarter.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for youth (ages 15-24) was recorded at 16.8 percent, reflecting an increase of 0.5 points. The unemployment rate for young women rose by 1.6 points to 23.5 percent, while that for young men saw a decrease of 0.2 points to 13.3 percent. Consequently, the gender gap in unemployment rates among young women and men increased from 8.4 points to 10.2 points.
According to unadjusted data, the unemployment rate in educational groups rose among higher education graduates compared to the previous quarter but decreased in all other groups. The largest decline was in the group with less than high school education, dropping by 0.5 points. Among high school graduates, the decline was 0.4 points, while for vocational or technical high school graduates, it was a decrease of 0.1 points. The unemployment rate among higher education graduates saw a significant increase of 2.4 points, marking the only rise among educational groups in the third quarter.
In the third quarter of 2024, the long-term unemployment rate was recorded at 19.7 percent overall. For men, the long-term unemployment rate increased from 15.2 percent to 16.2 percent compared to the previous quarter, while for women, it decreased from 26.5 percent to 23.2 percent."