Turkey’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate hits highest on record
Turkey is seen sliding into recession after a currency crisis last year
ISTANBUL: 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 per cent, according to Turkish Statistical Institute figures, reflecting Turkey’s slide into recession after a currency crisis last year saw the lira lose nearly 30 per cent 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 per cent, down from a 10-year high of 14.7 per cent in December-February. In the March-May period it stood at 13 per cent.
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.
“We will see the unadjusted unemployment rate rise towards 14 per cent by the end of the year. Economic growth is important for a fall in unemployment independent of seasonal factors,” he said.
“We will probably see positive growth in the fourth quarter but this will not be enough to end the full year with growth.” The non-agricultural unemployment rate was unchanged from a month earlier at 15 per cent, the data showed.