The unemployment charge in Türkiye fell 0.3% proportion factors month-over-month in February, official knowledge confirmed Monday, edging towards the bottom in a decade close to ranges touched in October final yr.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment charge dropped to eight.7%, a four-month low, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) stated.
It is down from 9% in January 2024 and 10% in February 2023. Unemployment was 8.5% in October 2023, the bottom in a decade.
The variety of jobless slipped by 109,000 to three.08 million final month. According to the info, the unemployment charge got here in at 7.3% for males and 11.3% for girls.
The variety of employed individuals surged by 147,000 to over 32.4 million, which officers say marks the best stage ever. The employment charge occurred at 49.3%, with a rise of 0.2 proportion factors.
“While our employment exceeded 32.4 million in February, our employment rate, reaching 49.3%, continues to hover at the highest levels in our history,” stated Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz.
“In the upcoming period, we will continue to pursue employment-friendly policies that activate the labor potential, especially focusing on youth and women, alongside policies that sustain economic stability, and we will implement our program with determination,” Yılmaz wrote on social media platform X, previously referred to as Twitter.
After final yr’s presidential and parliamentary elections, Türkiye reversed years of easing coverage. It delivered aggressive tightening, primarily geared toward curbing inflation, which is hovering towards 70%, rebuilding reserves and flipping power present account deficits to surpluses.
The nation’s central financial institution has raised its key one-week repo charge by 4,150 foundation factors from 8.5% to 50% since final June. After final month’s 500 foundation level hike that surprised the markets, the financial institution cited a deteriorating inflation outlook and pledged to tighten even additional if it expects the value scenario to worsen considerably.
Inflation is predicted to proceed rising towards the mid-year earlier than coming into what officers anticipate to be a steep downward development within the second half of 2024.
The central financial institution final month took different steps to tighten credit score, together with motion on reserve necessities, prompting some banks to both scale back mortgage limits and even cease providing loans. It additionally raised the utmost charge on bank card money withdrawals.
A tighter fiscal coverage is predicted so as to add to the rising credit score prices.
Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Işıkhan echoed Yılmaz’s view.
“Our employment figure renewed its historical peak with 32.4 million, increasing by 147,000 people in February 2024 compared to the month earlier,” Işıkhan wrote on X.
“We will continue our growth focused on investment, production, employment, and exports with determined steps.”
The knowledge from TurkStat confirmed that the labor pressure participation charge remained unchanged in February at 54%, whereas a seasonally adjusted measure of labor under-utilization fell 1.9 proportion factors to 24.5%.
Yılmaz stated the unemployment charge for girls reached its lowest stage in about 10 years.
The youth unemployment charge – ages 15-24 – fell to fifteen.6% in February from 16.4% in January. The charge was 13.3% for males and 19.6% for girls.
Source: www.dailysabah.com