One fourth of jobless university graduate

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

University graduates faces the highest ratio of unemployment. Hürriyet photo

The number of university graduates among the unemployed escalates, as one-fourth of the unemployed in Turkey hold a university degree while both the illiteracy ratio and number of primary school graduates declined, Turkish Statistical Institution data has suggested.

University graduates, who form the white-collar sector, are the largest and most rapidly increasing group among the unemployed population, according to October 2012 statistics compiled based on education level.

Unemployment in Turkey surged to 9.1 percent in October 2012, rising 3.5 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching 2.541 million. Within this number, university graduates’ unemployment ratio has jumped to 23.1 percent from 20 percent in just one year.

While one-fifth of the unemployed population had a university degree as of 2011, the ration has soared to one-fourth in 2012 as the labor force expanded but employment decreased.

As education levels rise, unemployment rises with it, according to the state’s data.

The ratio of high school graduates suffered a similar but less severe fate, rising to 360,000 with 9.4 percent of total employment.

Meanwhile, the illiteracy ratio plummeted 23.1 percent as the unemployment rate of primary school graduates fell 2.4 percent.