Turkey: Jobless rate sees slight decrease year-on-year

ANKARA

Unemployment rate in Turkey has decreased by 0.2 percent to reach 10.3 percent in September compared with the same period last year, Turkish Statistical Authority said Tuesday.

However, the unemployment rate saw 0.2 percent increase from August to September this year, according to the report.

“We see an increase in line with the season but less prominent than it would be,” former Burgan Investment House economist Haluk Burumcekci said.

“Pace of annual employment growth, which we see as an important indicator for the outlook of domestic demand, rose to 3.8 percent,” Burumcekci said.

The employment rate in the month has remained unchanged at 46.8 percent, the report said.

Labor force participation rate rose one percent in September year-on-year to 52.1 percent.

The number of women participating in workforce increased 1.2 percent from the previous year to 32.3 percent.

Among the labor force aged between 15 and 64, the unemployment rate also decreased by 0.2 percentage points compared with the same period previous year.

“Seasonally adjusted labor force participation rate saw new historic high with 51.6 percent. It implies that although improvement in unemployment rate is limited by the reading, it also suggests that hopes for finding a job has increased,” Burumcekci added.

He said that new data showed that deterioration seen in employment market in the first half of the year has stopped but further improvement in the employment outlook is not expected in the near future.