Turkey's unemployment rate at 10.2 percent in June

By Gokhan Ergocun

ANKARA (AA) - The unemployment rate in Turkey remained at 10.2 percent in June compared to the same month last year, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) announced Friday.

The number of jobless aged 15 and over in the country rose to 3.25 million, a rise of 124,000 from June last year, TurkStat said in a statement.

The unemployment rate in May was also at 10.2 percent.

June's employment rate rose 0.9 point to 48 percent -- 28.7 million people -- from the same period last year.

Labor force participation increased by 1 percentage point year-on-year to 53.4 percent.

The TurkStat report revealed that the number of women in the workforce rose 1.1 percentage point from the previous year to 34.1 percent.

The unemployment rate started the year at 13 percent in January. It dropped to 12.6 percent in February, 11.7 percent in March, 10.5 percent in April and 10.2 in May.