Turkish unemployment falls to 10.9%, as factory output rises

Turkey’s unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percentage points month-on-month to 10.9 percent in May, while a seasonally adjusted measure of labour underutilisation rose 0.8 points to 22.4 percent, data showed last week.

The labour underutilisation measure was on a falling trend for much of last year after peaking at 29.6 percent in January 2021 under the impact of measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The revised unemployment rate for April was 11.2 percent, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute also showed.

The labour force participation rate rose 0.4 percentage points from a month earlier to 53.6 percent, the data showed.

Turkish industrial production grew 9.1 percent year-on-year in May, data showed on Thursday, rising for a 23rd consecutive month and holding firm against a background of lira weakness and rampant inflation.

Month-on-month, industrial output expanded 0.5 percent on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis, the Turkish Statistical Institute said.