Unemployment declines to 11-year low in October

ANKARA

The decline in unemployment continued in October, with the jobless rate falling to 8.5 percent, the lowest level since November 2012.

The unemployment rate, which stood at 11.1 percent in October 2022, has been declining steadily since June this year.

The number of jobless people fell by 163,000 from September to 2.96 million in October, the data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed on Dec. 11.

The unemployment rate among men was 7 percent, while it was 11.3 percent among women, said TÜİK.

There were around 65.6 million people in Türkiye aged above 15, and the country’s total labor force was 34.8 million as of October, with 31.8 million people employed.

The labor force participation rate improved slightly from 53 percent in September to 53.1 percent in October.

The employment rate inched up from 48.2 percent to 48.5 percent.

The unemployment rate among the country’s youth – aged between 15 and 24 – eased from 16.7 percent to 16.3 percent.

The government projects that the unemployment rate will be 10.1 percent at the end of 2023 and 10.3 percent next year. The government expects the jobless rate to decline to 9.9 percent in 2025.

Meanwhile, the Minimum Wage Determination Commission, comprised of representatives from the government, employers' and labor unions, held the first round of talks on the minimum wage for millions of workers today.

The commission will meet four times in December before announcing the wage, which will take effect in 2024.

The net minimum wage was raised to 11,402 Turkish Liras ($393) in July this year.