Unemployment in Turkey decreased year on year in January as the country showed signs of economic recovery before the coronavirus pandemic struck last month, EDNews reports citing Ahval News.
Turkey’s unemployment dropped in January by 306,000 to 4.36 million, a 0.9 percentage point decrease that leaves the rate of unemployment at 13.8 percent, the country’s statistical institute said in its labour force report.
The employment rate decreased by 0.5 percentage points compared to the same period last year, reaching 44 percent, though the number of employed people climbed by 109,000 to 27.26 million.
Youth unemployment, recorded in the 15-24 age group, also decreased compared to January 2019 with a 2.2 percentage point decrease bringing the figure to 24.5 percent.
Non-agricultural unemployment decreased by 1.1 percentage points to 15.7 percent compared to last year.
Turkey was still reeling in January 2019 from a currency crisis that had knocked nearly 30 percent off the lira’s value per dollar the previous year. It continued to struggle to regain ground over the past year, with the government attempting to reinvigorate the economy by slashing interest rates and making cheap loans available in economic packages throughout the year.
Unemployment was a persistent problem throughout 2019 despite the government’s measures, rising by nearly 1 million over the course of the year. But by September, positive signs came from the country’s industrial output, a key contributor to economic growth.
The coronavirus pandemic looks certain to put a halt to the recovery, with economic activity slowing to a crawl in many of the country’s sectors. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has declared it a priority to “keep the economic wheels turning” as the country fights the pandemic.