Turkey's unemployment rises in July

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

The unemployment rate in July rose to 9.3 percent with a 0.9 percent increase from the same period a year earlier. DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIK

Turkey’s unemployment rate rose to 9.3 percent in July over the same period of the previous year, in parallel with the mid-term economic outlook that foresees a 9.5 percent rate of unemployment by the end of this year.

The unemployment rate in July rose to 9.3 percent with a 0.9 percent increase from the same period a year earlier, equaling 2.6 million people, according to the newest figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK). A total of 363,000 people joined the ranks of unemployment.

Non-agricultural unemployment also surged from 1.1 percent to 11.8 percent. Data showed that those aged 15 to 24 suffered from poorer job prospects as the unemployment rate for the age group totaled 18 percent, 1.7 percentage points higher than the same period a year earlier.

The number of employed people also rose 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 682,000, meaning a total of 26.9 million people were employed, with 601,000 people becoming employed.

The overall employment rate was 46.9 percent, 0.3 points higher than last year. The labor force participation rate reached 51.7 percent with a 0.9 percent increase in the same period.