Turkey launches campaign to raise employment

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey has launched a new campaign for raising employment by supporting businesses, said the country’s minister of family, labor and social services on Monday.

"As a state, we pay salaries, taxes and premiums of every new personnel employed by businesses for three months," said Zehra Zumrut Selcuk said at an event in the capital Ankara.

The minister added that the government will continue to pay personnel's taxes and premiums for following nine months, the minister added.

Meanwhile, Berat Albayrak, Turkey's finance and treasury minister, said: "Within the scope of employment-intensive policies, Turkey has created over 10 million jobs since 2009."

Turkish economy started a new era and the country will enter stronger and more positive process after local elections, he underlined.

Rifat Hisarciklioglu, the president of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), said that the union has started a campaign for raising employment.

People, who invested in Turkish economy and generate employment, will succeed, he added.

According to the country's statistical authority, Turkey's unemployment rate was 12.3 percent as of November 2018.

The number of unemployed persons -- aged 15 years and over -- totaled 3.98 million, as the number of employed people was 28.3 million.

As noted in Turkey's new economic program, which was announced in September 2018, the country aims to reach an unemployment rate target of 10.8 percent in 2021.