Aysu Bicer
18 May 2021•Update: 18 May 2021
ANKARA
Turkey's unemployment rate reached 12.9% in the first quarter of 2021, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous quarter, the country's statistical authority announced on Tuesday.
The number of unemployed people aged 15 and over increased by 142,000 to 4.1 million in the January-March period, a Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) statement said.
The employment rate realized as 43.8% with a 0.8 percentage point quarterly rise as number of employed people rose by 627,00 to 27.8 million.
Labor force participation reached 50.3% in the first quarter of the year, up 0.1 percentage point compared to the previous quarter.
Nearly 32 million people are taking part in the country's labor force, with a rise of 767,000 in January-March, according to TurkStat.
The youth unemployment rate in the 15-24 age group was 25.3% in March, posting a 0.2 percentage point in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the previous quarter.
According to the distribution of employment by sector, 54.9% was employed in the services, 21.3% in industry, 17.5 in agriculture and 6.2% in construction.
The report said the rate of women participating in the workforce was 31.2%, while this figure was 69.2% for men.
Meanwhile, the rate of unregistered employment – people working without social security related to their principal occupation – was 28.1% in the January-March period, down 2 percentage point from the previous quarter.
The rate of unregistered employment in the non-agricultural sector was 17.1%, marking a 3.3 percentage points.
