The textile and apparel industry, key drivers of Türkiye’s economy, continue to experience significant contractions. According to data released by the Social Security Institution (SGK), the number of businesses operating in this sector decreased from 56,954 in March to 55,173 in August. Within the textile segment, the number of production firms fell from 19,217 to 18,794, while apparel manufacturing companies declined from 37,737 to 36,379. These figures indicate that a total of 1,781 businesses closed between March and August.
Employment, which had remained above one million between 2020 and 2023, dropped to 959,395 by the end of 2024. In March 2025, the official number of employees in the textile and apparel sectors was 923,935, decreasing further to 885,762 by August. Of these, 356,218 are employed in textiles and 529,544 in apparel manufacturing.
Annual employment loss exceeds 114,000 in textiles and apparel
The August 2025 issue of the Employment Monitoring Bulletin, prepared by the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Türkiye (TEPAV) based on SGK-insured employee data, highlighted the sharp contraction in textile and apparel employment. According to the report, the number of insured employees declined year-on-year in 40 out of 88 sub-sectors, with the largest employment loss—77,928 jobs—occurring in apparel manufacturing. This reflects an 11.6% year-on-year decrease in workforce in this segment.
Textile manufacturing followed, with an employment reduction of 36,332. Combined, the two sectors experienced a total employment loss of over 114,000.