Mubasher: Turkey’s unemployment rate hit its highest level in nine years during the three months ended last January, in a new sign of the impact of last year’s lira (TRY) crisis.
The jobless rate climbed to 13.5% in the period between November last year and January, the Turkish Statistical Institute (Turkstat) said on Friday.

The number of individuals registered as unemployed was 4.3 million during the three months, climbing by more than one million from a year earlier when the rate stood at 12.7%.

During the last quarter of last year, the unemployment rate was estimated at 12.3%.

Non-farm unemployment came in at 15.6% in the November-January period, up from 14.3% during the period between October and December 2018.

The Turkish economy shrank by a more-than-expected 3% in the fourth quarter of last year, the worst reading since almost a decade, suggesting that last year’s 30% plunge in the lira tipped the nation into recession.

It is worth noting that the Turkish government and Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges launched a campaign in a bid to boost employment, which is believed to provide jobs for 2.5 million people.

By 11:08 am GMT, the USD/TRY went up 0.09% to TRY 5.4714.