Unemployment rate at 13.7 pct in December 2019

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

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Turkey's unemployment rate in December 2019 stood at 13.7 percent, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) revealed on March 10.

The figure was marginally up from the same month of the previous year, rising 0.2 percentage point, TÜİK said in a statement.

The number of jobless aged 15 and over in the country reached 4.4 million by the end of last year – a rise of 94,000 from November 2018.

On a monthly basis, December's figures also rose 0.4 percentage point, when unemployment stood at 13.3 percent in November 2019.

The unemployment rate in December was well above the government's target of 12.9 percent for 2019 under its economic program announced last September.

Turkey's employment rate rose to 44.7 percent – almost 28.17 million people – in December last year, rising 0.7 percentage points from December 2018.

The youth unemployment rate among people aged 15-24 years hit 25 percent, a rise of 0.5 percentage points during the same period.

"The rate of neither in employment nor in education realized as 25.4 percent with 0.5 percentage points increase compared with the same period of the previous year," TÜİK said.

The labor force participation rate slipped 0.6 percentage points on an annual basis, falling to 51.8 percent in December last year.

The rate for men was 71 percent, showing a 0.7 percentage point fall, and 33 percent for women, a 0.6 percentage points decrease, both-year-on-year.

The new economic program estimates the unemployment rate will decrease gradually to hit 9.8 percent in 2022.