Turkey: Unemployment rate down in Sept

By Yunus Girgin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's unemployment rate was 12.7% in September, showing a decrease of 1.1 percentage points year-on-year, the Turkish Statistical Institute announced on Thursday.

The number of unemployed people aged 15 and over decreased by 550,000 to just over 4 million as of September compared to the same month last year, according to the institute. The youth unemployment rate in the 15-24 age group fell to 24.3%, with a 1.8 percentage point decrease, it added.

The non-agricultural unemployment rate also fell 1.5 percentage point to 14.9%, year-on-year during the same month.

Meanwhile, employment was recorded at 44.1% with a 2-percentage-point decrease annually.

In August, the country's unemployment rate was 13.2%.