Turkey's unemployment rate at 13.1% in March

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey's unemployment rate read 13.1% in March, down 0.1 percentage point month-on-month, the country's statistical authority announced on Monday.

The number of unemployed people aged 15 and over increased by 59,000 to 4.2 million in March compared to February, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said in a statement.

The employment rate realized as 44.3% with a 0.8 percentage point monthly rise as number of employed people rose by 550,000 to 28.9 million.

Labor force participation reached 51% in March, up 0.9 percentage point compared to the previous month.

Over 32 million people are taking part in the country's labor force, with a rise of 610,000 in March versus a month earlier, according to TurkStat.

The youth unemployment rate in the 15-24 age group was 25% in March, posting a 0.7 percentage point fall monthly.