Decline in jobless rate continues in March

ANKARA

Even though limited, the decline in Türkiye’s unemployment rate continues for a second month in a row.

The jobless rate dropped from 8.7 percent in February to 8.6 percent in March, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said on May 10.

The number of unemployed people fell by 19,000 from February to March to a little more than 3 million.

The unemployment rate among men, which was 7.2 percent in February, was 8.7 percent, but it increased from 11.5 percent to 12 percent for women.

There were around 65.8 million people in Türkiye aged above 15, and the country’s total labor force was 35.65 million as of March, with 32.59 million people employed, according to TÜİK data.

The labor force participation rate inched up from 54 percent to 54.2 percent, while the employment rate ticked up from 49.3 percent to 49.5 percent.

The unemployment rate among the country’s youth — aged between 15 and 24 — fell from 15.5 percent in February to 15.1 percent in March.

In the medium-term program, the government forecasts that the unemployment rate will be 10.3 percent this year, when the economy is expected to grow by 4 percent. The government’s jobless and growth rate estimates for 2025 are 9.9 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.