Turkish unemployment rate rises to 10.1 pct after slow economy and unregistered migrants begin work

Turkish unemployment rose to double digits in August after months of slow economic activity and unregistered Syrian migrants entering the workforce in Turkey. 

The unemployment rate was announced 10.1 percent in the August period, which comprised the figures of July, August and September, from 9.8 percent in the July period, and was unchanged from the same period of 2014, according to data from the Turkish Statistics Agency (TÜ?K).

The non-farm unemployment rate stood at 12.4 percent in August, up from 12 percent in July and 12.3 percent a year earlier, according to TÜ?K data, which was released on Nov. 16. 

Number of seasonally-adjusted unemployed persons occurred as 3.09 million persons without any change in the period of August 2015 compared to the previous period. Unemployment rate stands at 10.4 percent without any change, according to TÜ?K data. 

"We expect the unemployment rate to keep increasing in the second half of the year after a first half that saw a better-than-expected growth rates but relatively high unemployment rates. In the meantime, we believe the existence of more than 2 million Syrian refugees has an impact in the rising jobless rate in Turkey," said ?? Investment Economist Muammer Kömürcüo?lu, as quoted by Reuters. 

"According to our calculations, many Syrians have been preferred by employees as they constitute a cheaper labor force. And this has pushed the annual unemployment rate up by 0.4 percent since the beginning of the year. Additionally, an expected hike in minimum wage will also probably increase the rate of unemployment at around 0.5 percent to 1 percent, with regards to the sharing of this burden between the public sector and the private sector," he added. 

Number of...