Unemployment rate ticks down to 8.8 percent

Türkiye's unemployment rate declined slightly from 8.9 percent in November to 8.8 percent in December 2023, the data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) have shown.

The number of jobless people fell by 12,000 from November to stand at 3 million in December.

The unemployment rate among men was 7.1 percent, while it was 12 percent among women, TÜİK said.

There were around 65.6 million people in Türkiye aged above 15, and the country's total labor force was 35.15 million as of December, with 32.06 million people employed.

The labor force participation rate improved from 53 percent to 53.3 percent, according to TÜİK data.

The employment rate climbed from 48.2 percent in November to 48.8 percent at the end of 2023.

The unemployment rate among the country's youth - aged between 15 and 24 - declined from 16.3 percent to 15.5 percent.

The jobless rates among the country's male and female youth were 11.5 percent and 22.8 percent, respectively.

The government forecast in the medium-term program that the unemployment rate would be 10.1 percent in 2023.

The government projects that the unemployment rate will be 10.3 percent this year and fall to 9.9 percent in 2025.