Turkey's seasonally adjusted jobless rate hits highest on record

16 Aug, 2019

Turkey's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate climbed to its highest level on record, statistical data showed on Thursday, despite a slight fall in the April-June headline figures.
The seasonally adjusted rate hit 14.0%, according to Turkish Statistical Institute figures, reflecting Turkey's slide into recession after a currency crisis last year saw the lira lose nearly 30% of its value against the dollar.
The rate is the highest recorded in the statistical institute's data going back to 2005.
In the April-June period, when Turkey's tourism and agriculture industries create temporary jobs, the headline jobless rate eased to 12.8%, down from a 10-year high of 14.7% in December-February. In the March-May period it stood at 13%.
Year-on-year, unemployment was up 3.1 percentage points in the April-June period, the data showed.
Enver Erkan, economist at GCM Investment, said he expects unemployment to rise again after July, when the effects of temporary tourism employment wear off.
The non-agricultural unemployment rate was unchanged from a month earlier at 15%, the data showed.

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