Turkey unemployment rate flat at 12.7 percent

Turkey’s jobless rate was unchanged at 12.7 percent in the three months to November compared with the month previously, the Turkish Statistical Institute said on Monday.

Unemployment in Turkey has remained almost flat during the coronavirus pandemic after the government barred companies from firing staff. Instead, an undisclosed number of persons are on unpaid leave, or on short working weeks.

Downward pressure on employment in Turkey has been reflected in a sharp contraction in the labour market. The labour force participation rate fell to 50 percent of the working age population in the three months to November from 50.5 percent in October and 53 percent a year earlier, the data showed.

The number of people in the labour force in Turkey dropped by 1.29 million to 31.5 million in November from a year ago.

The youth unemployment rate – defined as the proportion of people aged between 15 years and 24 years neither in a job or education – stood at 27.6 percent, falling from 29.1 percent in the three months to October. The rate stood at 26 percent a year earlier.