The unemployment figures for 2019 have been released. The total number of registered unemployed people across Turkey for 2019 has been determined by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK). According to the data, the number of unemployed in December 2019 increased by 92 thousand people compared to December of the previous year. Thus, the total number of unemployed for 2019 reached 4,394,000. The unemployment survey covers the population aged 15 and over nationwide and records the unemployment figures identified during 2019.
Specifically, the number of unemployed in December 2019 rose by 92 thousand compared to December 2018. With this increase, the total number of unemployed for 2019 reached 4,394,000 people. The unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 13.7%. Non-agricultural unemployment also rose by 0.2 percentage points. With the increase observed in non-agricultural unemployment, the non-agricultural unemployment rate was 15.8%. The number of employed people in December 2019 increased by 3 thousand compared with the same month in the previous period. As a result, the number of employed persons reached 27,658,000. The employment rate fell by 0.7 percentage points to 44.7%. Employment changes by sector are as follows:
- Agriculture: increase of 225 thousand people, accounting for 16.5% of employment,
- Construction: decrease of 119 thousand people, accounting for 5.4% of employment,
- Industry: increase of 225 thousand people, accounting for 20.6% of employment,
- Services: increase of 122 thousand people, accounting for 57.5% of employment.
Informal Employment and Youth Unemployment Rates Determined
Informal employment and youth unemployment figures have also been determined. The labor force participation increased by 95 thousand people compared with December 2018, reaching a total of 32,052,000 people. Despite the rise in the number of people in the labor force, the labor force participation rate decreased by 0.6 percentage points to 51.8%.
The share of workers without social security—informal workers—within total employment fell by 1.1 percentage points compared with December 2018. As a result, the proportion of informal employment was 32.3%.
The youth unemployment rate for the 15–24 age group rose by 0.5 percentage points compared with the same period of the previous year, reaching 25.0%. The youth employment rate decreased by 0.5 percentage points to 31.9%. Labor force participation among young people also declined by 0.5 percentage points to 42.5%. The share of young people who are neither in education nor in employment or training (NEET) increased by 0.5 percentage points compared with the same period of the previous year, reaching 25.4%.