Turkey’s jobless rate unchanged at 11.2%, underutilization dips

Turkey’s unemployment rate stood unchanged in November from a month earlier, while a seasonally adjusted measure of labor underutilization dipped, official data showed on Monday.

The jobless rate came in at 11.2% in November, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said, with labor underutilization falling 0.7 percentage points to 22.1%.

The labor underutilization measure was on a falling trend for much of last year after peaking at 29.5% last January under the impact of measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of unemployed people aged 15 and over rose slightly by 39,000 to nearly 3.77 million in November, according to the data.

The labor force participation rate rose 0.4 percentage points from a month earlier to 52.5% in November, data from TurkStat also showed.

The number of employed people increased by 228,000 to over 29.85 million, placing the employment rate at 46.6% with a 0.3 percentage point increase in November 2021.

It preceded a volatile December in which the currency swung and inflation soared to 36%.

The youth unemployment rate in the 15-24 age group was 22.3% with a 1.7 percentage point increase compared to the previous month, the statistical institute noted.