Unemployment falls to single digit after 2 years

ISTANBUL

Workers are assembling cupboards at a facility in Istanbul. The urban unemployment rate fell in 2011, figures show.

The overall annual unemployment rate in Turkey dropped 2.1 points to 9.8 percent last year after having been in double digits the previous two years, according to a report from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

The number of unemployed people in Turkey dropped 431,000 to 2.6 million in 2011, bringing the unemployment rate to a single-digit figure; the rate had been 11.9 percent in 2010 and 14 percent in 2009.

The urban unemployment rate deceased 2.3 points to 11.9 percent, while the rural unemployment decreased 1.5 points to 5.8 percent.

The non-agricultural unemployment rate fell 2.4 points to 12.4 percent in 2011 compared with the previous year.

The unemployment figure for men in non-agricultural sectors was 10.7 percent, which represents a 2.5-point decrease from the previous year.

The rate for the men’s female counterparts also dropped 2.5 points to 17.7 percent.

The number of people employed in the agriculture sector rose by 460,000, while the number of those employed in non-agricultural jobs was up 1.05 million last year, demonstrating the strength of the service and industrial sectors.

The total number of employed people increased to 24.1 million in 2011, up from 22.5 million in 2010, TÜİK said.

Participation rate rises

The service sector accounted for the highest number of new jobs, with a 48.1 percent in total new employment in 2011.

It was followed by the agricultural sector at 25.5 percent, the industrial sector at 19.5 percent and the construction sector at 7 percent.

The labor force participation rate also rose 1.1 points to 49.9 percent in 2011 compared with the previous year. The participation rate for men rose 0.9 points to 71.2 percent, while the figure for women was up 1.2 points to 28.8 percent.

The percentage of workers not registered for social insurance dropped 1.2 points to 42.1 percent. The İzmir region, one of the economic powerhouses of Turkey, registered the highest unemployment rate at 14.7 percent.

The figure was 11.8 percent in Istanbul, which also accounted for 17.5 percent of total employment.