May unemployment rate down to 9.4 percent

Dunya - Türkiye’ s unemployment rate continued its downward trend in May as data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) show a decrease of 1.6 points, down to 9.4 percent, compared to the same month a year earlier.

The stable growth trend in the Turkish economy helped the increase in employment, as the number of employed people in May increased by almost 1.4 million year-on-year. The total labor pool has reached 24.4 million people, while the unemployment rate fell below 10 percent for the first time in 33 months.

TurkStat’s May 2011 data show a fall in unemployment in urban areas to 11.6 percent, a 1.8 point drop from May 2010’s 13.4 percent, and 1 point drop to 5.4 percent in agricultural jobs.

Türkiye’s economy grew by a record 11 percent in the first quarter, raising the prospect of unemployment levels dropping even further throughout the year.