ANKARA - The unemployment rate in European Union-hopeful Turkey rose to 11.7 percent in the first quarter this year from a year ago, the State Statistics Institute announced Wednesday.
A survey based on interviews with some 86,000 people put the number of jobless at 2.75 million people.
In the 2004 fourth quarter, the unemployment rate stood at 10.0 percent, with an estimated 2.4 million jobless.
The rate for the full-year 2004 was 10.3 percent and the number of jobless was an estimated 2.5 million.
To determine the figures, the institute surveys a number of households in different regions on the basis of international standards, and uses the results to make a nationwide projection.
It is the only available unemployment data in Turkey, but observers warn that the figures do not reflect the real picture when it comes to undeclared or hidden unemployment where educated, qualified people are often engaged in menial, unqualified jobs.
Unemployment and a large informal sector are areas the International Monetary Fund wants Turkey to address to consolidate gains from its spectacular economic recovery from a severe recession, aided by a 16-billion-dollar, three-year IMF credit line.
Earlier this month, the IMF gave the green light to a new three-year stand-by deal with Turkey worth 10 billion dollars to help Ankara strengthen its recovery and prepare for its membership talks with the EU, set to begin on October 3.
05/25/2005 08:57 GMT