The Unemployment Rate Hits 10.2% in May, But Is Unemployment Really Falling

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The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) has announced the employment rates for May. The state-run Anadolu Agency has stated that the unemployment rate in May decreased by 0.3% compared to the previous month.

However, according to TÜİK’s stats, the number of unemployed people aged 15 or above in May 2017 reached 3,225,000 people,  which represents an increase of 330,000 people compared to May 2016.

The unemployment rate was 10.2% in May 2017 with an increase of 0.8% compared to May 2016.

The unemployment rate in fact saw a decrease of 0.3% in May when compared to the previous month. The rate was 10.5% in April.

How do experts read the data?

Nevertheless, Alaattin Aktaş from Dünya newspaper said in his column called “Eko Analiz”,

“As we always say, you can read the stats very differently depending on the angle from which you read the data. However, with respect to unemployment there can basically only be one angle.

“A comparison cannot be made with previous months. Unemployment is an indicator that is highly affected by seasonality, and the comparison is made using the same period of previous years”. (HK/TK)