Seyfettin Gürsel, Gokce Uysal and Furkan Kavuncu
Seasonally adjusted labor market data shows that, in the period of March 2019, non-agricultural unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points and reached 16 percent. Increases in labor force and employment observed in the period of February 2019 continued in this period as well. The number of unemployed in non-agricultural sectors reached 4.4 million. The employment losses in manufacturing came to a halt in March 2019, and employment increased by 94 thousand, in line with the rise in industrial production index. While employment increased by 37 thousand in services, it declined in agriculture and construction by 5 thousand and 53 thousand, respectively. Since February 2018, the losses in construction have exceeded 600 thousand. In this period, female employment increased by 53 thousand, whereas male employment decreased by 40 thousand. The gender gap in non-agricultural unemployment shrank by 0.3 percentage points.