Turkey’s unemployment rate recorded at 11.1% in August, 0.5pp up on a year ago

Turkey’s unemployment rate recorded at 11.1% in August, 0.5pp up on a year ago
By bne IntelliNews November 15, 2018

Turkey’s unemployment rate in August moved up to 11.1% from 10.6% a year ago, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) said on November 15.

"Turkey’s jobless rate nudges higher in August as economy slows. Unemployment rate now at 11.1%, highest since 2017," Holger Zschaepitz of Welt said on Twitter.

"The summer volatility and consequent tightening in policies to restore confidence have resulted in a faster rebalancing of the economy. This outlook points to significant upside risks for current unemployment trends in the period ahead," Muhammet Mercan of ING Bank said in a research note.

There was no big gain in joblessness despite the economic slowdown driven by the currency crisis that has sharply reduced consumer demand.

Another 266,000 people joined the ranks of the unemployed in the eighth month, bringing the total number of unemployed to 3.7mn out of a total population of 81m, TUIK added. The jobless rate was 10.6 per cent in August 2017.

Employers may be holding off on dismissing workers in large numbers in the face of what some analysts say could be a painful recession. There is a lot of political pressure in Turkey to show solidarity in the face of the country’s economic woes which ruling politicians have blamed on hostile outside forces.

Berat Albayrak, Turkey’s finance minister, said in September that the country’s unemployment rate would likely hit 12.1% in 2019, rising from 11.3% this year.

TUIK said youth unemployment—which covers people aged 15 to 24 years-old—stood at 20.8% in August, up slightly from last year.

Data

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