The unemployment rate in Turkey for the month of February grew by 1.7 percent, compared to same period last year, and reached 12.6 percent, Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) announced yesterday.

When compared to the previous month, however, the unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points.

Compared to February 2016, the number of unemployed individuals, aged 15 years and over, also increased by 676,000 to reach 3.9 million in February 2017.

During the same period, the non-agricultural unemployment rate stood at 14.8 percent with a 2.1 percent increase.

Meanwhile, youth unemployment rate, which includes the age group between 15 and 24, was at 23.3 percent with a 4.7 percentage point increase. The rate of unemployment among people aged 15 to 64 grew by 1.8 percentage point and reached 12.9 percent.

The employment rate, on the other hand, remained unchanged at 45.3 percent, despite the creation of some 500,000 new jobs, compared to February 2016. The total number of employed individuals this February reached 26.956 million.

Agricultural employment increased by 160,000 persons and the number of people employed in a non-agricultural sector increased by 340,000 during this period.

Some 18.7 percent of the workforce was employed in agriculture, 19.5 percent worked in industries, and 6.7 percent in construction while the majority, some 55.2 percent were involved in services.

Employment in agriculture and services sectors increased by 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, while in the industry sector it decreased by 0.4 percent. Employment in construction sector remained unchanged.

The total number of people in the labor force reached 30.86 million with an increase of 1.175 million, while the labor force participation rate (LFPR) was at 51.8 percent with a 1 percentage point increase.

LFPR for males was at 71.7 percent with a 0.8 percent increase, and the rate for females stood at 32.3 percent with a 1.2 percentage point increase, compared to the same period the previous year.

The ratio of people working without any social security relating to the main job stood at 32.8 percent with a 0.7 percentage point increase.

According to the Ministry of Finance, total public sector employment decreased by 1.2 percent, to hit 3.558 million.

In the meantime, seasonally adjusted employment rate stood at 46.5 percent with a 0.2 percent increase, while the unemployment rate was at 11.7 percent with a 0.1 percent drop. Seasonally adjusted LFPR was 52.7 percent with a 0.2 percent increase.

Despite the 0.4 percent monthly decrease in the unemployment rate in February, historical data points out that unemployment rate is still high. Yet, the mobilization campaign and sectoral incentives supported the increase in the job creation.

Moreover, the recruitment in public sector throughout the year is also expected to contribute to the increase in employment rate, which promises a positive outlook for the upcoming period.