Turkish unemployment nears double-digit levels

ISTANBUL

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said Feb. 17 the number of unemployed across the country had climbed to 2.78 million. DAILY NEWS Photo

Turkey’s unemployment rate increased in November 2013 to 9.9 percent, with a 0.5 percentage point rise compared to the same period of the previous year, official data has shown.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said Feb. 17 that the number of unemployed individuals across the country had climbed to 2.78 million, with 154,000 more joining the ranks of the unemployed, compared to the same period in 2012.

Turkey’s October unemployment was 9.7 percent, dropping from 9.9 in September. Therefore, after falling for the first time in five months in October, the number of jobless in the country returned to its previous level the following month.

While non-agricultural unemployment has also soared by 0.3 percent, the seasonally adjusted joblessness rate remained unchanged at 9.9 percent on a monthly basis, according to the data encompassing projections for October, November and December.

Youth joblessness in the country also continued to rise during the period. Unemployment among those aged 15 to 24 years, which was 18.7 percent in November, jumped 0.5 percentage points to 19.3 percent.

Meanwhile, 152,000 people entered the workforce, with the number of the employed becoming 25.44 million.