According to the Turkish Statistical Institute's (TurkStat) monthly report, the unemployment rate was 9.3 percent in May, the lowest rate in the last 11 months. The unemployment rate in April was 9.6 percent, indicating it declined 0.3 percentage points, while the unemployment rate was 8.8 in May 2014.
The number of unemployed people above the age of 15 was 2.789 million, which was 238,000 more than the same month last year. The non-agricultural unemployment rate was 11.4 percent – a 0.7 percentage point increase from the previous year – while the youth unemployment rate, which includes the 15-24 age group, was 17 percent – a 1.2 percentage point increase. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for the 15-64 age group was 9.5 percent with a 0.6 percentage point increase.
With an increase of 772,000 people compared to last year, the labor force totaled 29.861 million in May, while the labor force participation rate (LFR) increased 0.5 percent in the same period to become 51.7 percent. The LFR remained unchanged from last year for the male population at 71.8 percent, while the female LFR increased 1.1 percentage points to become 32.1 percent.
The employment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to reach 46.9 percent, as the number of employed individuals increased by 534,000 in May compared to the same month last year. Meanwhile, the rate of unregistered employment declined 1.7 percentage points to 34 percent. Public sector employment rose 1.7 percentage points, as Finance Ministry data indicates that 3.432 million people are employed by the public sector.
