Unemployment rate falls to 7.8 pct in August

ANKARA

Türkiye’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in August from 8.1 percent in July, while a broader measure of labor underutilization edged higher, official data showed on Sept. 30.

The number of unemployed people aged 15 and over declined by 106,000 from the previous month to 2.74 million, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said.

Employment rose by 136,000 to 32.51 million, lifting the employment rate by 0.1 percentage point to 48.4 percent.
The labor force increased by 29,000 to 35.25 million, while the participation rate remained unchanged at 52.5 percent.

Youth unemployment, covering people aged 15 to 24, fell by 1.1 percentage points to 13 percent. The rate stood at 9.7 percent for young men and 19.4 percent for young women.

Overall unemployment was 6.6 percent among men and 10.1 percent among women.

Despite the decline in the headline rate, the seasonally and calendar-adjusted labor underutilization rate, which includes time-related underemployment and the potential labor force as well as the unemployed, rose by 0.4 percentage points to 31 percent.

The combined rate of time-related underemployment and unemployment was 20.2 percent, while the combined rate of unemployment and the potential labor force was also 20.2 percent.

Average weekly actual working hours increased by 0.5 hours to 42.5 hours in August.