Turkey’s jobless rate rises slightly in June

ANKARA

Turkey’s unemployment rate rose by 0.8 percent in June from the previous month a year earlier, according to the newest figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

The jobless rate in June increased to 8.8 percent, equaling 2.5 million people, according to official data. 
The June data, which is key to projections for the May-July period, marked a 0.8 percent increase from last year’s same period, with 299,000 people joining the ranks of the jobless.

Non-agricultural unemployment also surged by 0.8 percent to 11 percent.

Data showed that those aged 15 to 24 suffered from poorer job prospects as the unemployment rate for the age group totaled 17.1 percent, 1.4 percentage points higher than the same period a year earlier.

The number of employed people also reached to 26.3 million with 742,000 new employed people during the period despite the fall in employment in the agriculture sector.

While the number of agricultural jobs dropped by 81,000, jobs in non-agricultural sectors soared 823,000, meaning a total of 26.1 million people were employed.

The overall employment rate was 47.4 percent, 0.6 points higher than last year.

The labor force participation rate rose to 51.9 percent in June with a 1.1 percent increase from the same month a year earlier. This rate reached 72.5 percent with a 0.8 percent increase for men while it stayed at 31.9 percent for women, 1.3 point higher than last year.

The rate of persons, who work informally without any social security, dropped to 37.8 percent with a 2.6 percent decrease.