Unemployment down 0.3 pct in February: Turkstat

ANKARA

The Turkish unemployment rate fell slightly in February 2016 from a year earlier, the Turkish Statistical Authority reported Monday.

The number of people unemployed declined 2,000 as unemployment was down 0.3 percentage point year-on-year, hitting 10.9 percent, TurkStat said.

New data showed that unemployment was also slightly better than the previous month’s reading of 11.1 percent.

According to TurkStat, the number of people seeking a job age 15 and over was at 29.68 million in February 2016, a rise of 877,000 people from a year earlier.

The meager decline of 2,000 in the number of people unemployed seems understandable considering the huge year-on-year increase of nearly 877,000 in the labor force.

The labor force participation rate was 50.8 percent, up 0.7 point year-on-year.

The youth unemployment rate, representing the 15-24 age group, also saw significant improvement, as the reading fell 1.4 points, to 18.6 percent.