ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s unemployment rate was stable in the third quarter of the year, standing at 8.5%, the country’s statistical authority TurkStat said Tuesday.

The number of unemployed people aged 15 and over decreased by 26,000 to 3.01 million.

Joblessness stood at 7% among men and 11.2% among women in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, employment increased in the July-September period, with 65,000 more people working, bringing the total number of employed to 32.56 million.

The overall employment rate was up to 49%, including 66.2% for men and 32.1% for women in the same period.

The labor force also rose by 39,000 to 35.57 million, with the participation rate at 53.5%.

Youth unemployment – covering those aged 15 to 24 – dropped by 0.5 percentage points to 15.3% in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter. It was 11.7% for men and 21.8% for women.

Looking into sectoral employment, the number of people employed in agriculture increased by 13,000, in construction by 40,000, and in services by 159,000. Meanwhile, employment in industry declined by 147,000.

Some 14% of workers were employed in agriculture, 19.8% in industry, 7% in construction, and 59.3% in services in the July-September period.