Turkey’s 2015 unemployment rate hits double digits

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

The unemployment rate in Turkey rose 0.4 percentage points in 2015 to sit at 10.3 percent, hitting double digits for the first time since 2010, the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) said in a statement on March 23.

The number of unemployed persons rose to 3.057 million in 2015, an increase of 204,000 from the previous year, the statement said.     

The unemployment rate was 9.9 percent in 2014 with 2.853 million people seeking jobs, up from 9.7 percent in 2013. The unemployment rate for men in 2015 was 9.2 percent, while it was 12.6 percent for women, up from 11.9 percent in 2014. Youth unemployment also saw a rise in 2015, to 18.5 percent from 17.9 percent a year earlier. In the Medium-Term Program, the unemployment rate for 2015 was predicted as 10.2 percent.

Turkey’s 10.3 percent unemployment in 2015 is lower than the eurozone average but higher than the EU average. In youth unemployment, Turkey’s statistics are better than the average in the EU and the eurozone.

While Turkey’s unemployment rate was 10.3 percent, the 28-member EU had an average unemployment rate of 9 percent. The eurozone, which has 19 members, had an average unemployment rate of 10.4 percent.

Among EU countries, Greece topped the list with 24.5 percent unemployment, followed by Spain with 20.8 percent and Croatia with 16.5 percent. Greek Cyprus had a 15.7 percent unemployment rate, while Portugal was at 11.8 percent. The Czech Republic and Germany had the lowest unemployment rates among EU countries with 4.5 percent each, followed by Malta at 5.1 percent.

Europe’s second biggest economy, France, had a 10.2 percent unemployment rate in 2015. The third largest economy, Italy, was at 11.4 percent.

The inability of many European countries to create new jobs resulted in an increase in youth unemployment, which includes people under the age of 25. In 2015, the average youth unemployment in the EU was 19.7 percent, while in the eurozone this figure was 22 percent.

Youth unemployment in Greece in 2015 was 50 percent, while Spain was 46 percent. They were followed by Croatia with 44.1 percent, Italy with 37.9 percent, Greek Cyprus with 31.7 percent and Portugal with 31 percent. 

The lowest youth unemployment rate in 2015was 7 percent in Germany and 11.2 percent in both Austria and the Netherlands.