UPDATE WITH COMMENTS FROM VICE PRESIDENT, DECK CHANGED
By Tuba Ongun
Türkiye's unemployment rate fell further to 8.6% in March, slightly down 0.1 percentage point month-on-month, according to data released on Friday.
The number of jobless dropped 19,000 from the prior month to 3.06 million as of March, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data showed.
Commenting on the data, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz pointed out that the March unemployment was 1.4 percentage points lower than a year ago.
The unemployment rate was 6.8% for men and 12% for women in March.
The labor force participation rate came in at 54.2 % in March, up 0.2 percentage points from a month ago.
The employment rate was 49.5%, or 32.6 million people, as of this March.
The youth unemployment rate – ages 15-24 – dropped by 0.4 percentage points to 15.1% in the month. The rate was 11.7% for men and 21.2% for women.
"The youth unemployment rate dipped to nearly its 12 year low," Yilmaz said on X, adding: "In the coming period, we will continue to pursue employment-friendly policies that will mobilize the workforce potential, especially young people and women, as well as policies that maintain economic stability."