Turkish Jobless Rate Rises to 4-Month High

Turkey’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 8.5% in August, accelerating from an upwardly revised 8.1% in July. This marked the highest jobless rate since April, as the number of unemployed increased by 168,000 to a nine-month high of 3.04 million, while employment climbed by 208,000 to a record high of 32.83 million, pushing the overall employment rate up to 49.4% from 49.1%. Male employment rose to 66.6% from 66.1% in July, while female employment edged up to 32.6% from 32.4%. Labor force participation also advanced to an eight-month high of 54.0% from 53.4%. Youth unemployment (ages 15–24) increased to a 10-month high of 16.0% in August from 15.2% in July.