Turkey creates some 550,000 new jobs in 2018

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - In Turkey, 549,000 new jobs were created last year, Turkey's statistical authority announced on Monday.

"Number of employed persons aged 15 years old and over realized as 28.74 million persons with 549,000 persons increase," TurkStat said.

It said employment rate was 47.4 percent -- 65.7 percent for male, and 29.4 percent for female -- last year, up 0.3 percentage points versus 2017.

Of those who were employed in 2018, 18.4 percent were employed in agriculture, 19.7 percent in industry, 6.9 percent in construction and 54.9 percent were employed in service sector.

In the country, labor force participation rate also increased by 0.4 percentage points to reach 54.2 percent -- 32.27 million persons -- year-on-year in 2018.

The rate was 72.7 percent for male and 34.2 percent for female.

Meanwhile, Turkey's unemployment rate was 11 percent -- 3.54 million people -- up 0.1 percentage point in 2018, versus the previous year.

Male's unemployment rate was 9.5 percent and female's was 13.9 percent.

Non-agricultural unemployment was 12.9 percent and youth unemployment rate -- 15-24 age group -- was 20.3 percent in 2018.