Turkish Unemployment Rate Down to 8.5 Pct in October

The rate was down from 8.6 percent in September, according to TÜİK's data.

The number of unemployed people aged 15 and over was down by 27,000 to 3.03 million in October.

Joblessness stood at 7 percent among men and 11.3 percent among women in the same period.

Meanwhile, employment increased, with 185,000 more people working, bringing the total number of employed to 32.77 million.

The overall employment rate was up to 49.2 percent, including 66.5 percent for men and 32.4 percent for women.

The labor force also increased by 157,000 to 35.8 million, with the participation rate at 53.8 percent.

Youth unemployment — covering those aged 15 to 24 — rose 0.2 percentage points from September to 15.6 percent in October. It was 12.9 percent for men and 20.6 percent for women.

In the third quarter of the year, the unemployment rate also stood at 8.5 percent on average.