SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR FORCE, SLIGHT DECREASE IN UNEMPLOYMENT
Seyfettin Gürsel, Saliha Tanrıverdi
The increase of 399,000 in employment, along with a decrease of 12,000 in the number of unemployed, resulted in a total labor force increase of 387,000. The overall unemployment rate has decreased by 0.1 percentage points from November to December, reaching 8.8 percent.
The seasonally adjusted female unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points from November to December, reaching 12 percent, as a result of a 208,000 decrease in employment and a 43,000 decrease in the number of unemployed. On the other hand, the male unemployment rate declined to 7.1 percent in December, following a 191,000 increase in employment and a 56,000 decrease in the number of unemployed males. The female labor force level increased by 250,000, while the male labor force level increased by 135,000. Consequently, the gender gap in unemployment rates increased from 4.5 percentage points to 4.9 percentage points in December.