Labor participation to rise as pandemic eases: Report

ANKARA

With the pandemic situation continuing to improve, labor participation among Turkey’s workforce is expected to increase, according to a report by the Presidency of Strategy and Budget.

It is being anticipated that the favorable trend in economic activity will continue and that the COVID-19 outlook will improve, the report said. “In line with those expectations, the labor participation rate is forecast to increase gradually. International data suggest that the adverse effects of the pandemic on the economy and labor markets have eased significantly.”

The unemployment rate in Turkey declined from 11.2 percent in January to 10.7 percent in February, according to the latest data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

The number of unemployed, aged 15 and above, dropped by 178,000 to some 3.6 million people, while the labor participation rate declined slightly by 0.2 percentage point to 52.2 percent in the month.

According to TÜİK, the country’s labor force was 33.6 million people as of February.

The report noted that leading indicators suggest that positive developments in economic activity continued in the first quarter of 2002, albeit at a slower pace, adding that this is expected to improve employment outlook in the quarter.

The productivity in the agriculture sector has declined in the last four quarters, the report said, noting that the productivity increases in the industry and services sectors, which started to be observed from the second half of 2020, began to ease in the third quarter of 2021.