The unemployment rate was at 10.4% in Türkiye last year, down from 12% in 2021, official figures released on Thursday showed.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said the number of unemployed people in the country aged 15 years and over dropped by 337,000 to 3.58 million in 2022 versus the previous year.

The unemployment rate was 8.9% for men and 13.4% for women in 2022.

The number of employed people was 30.75 million last year, up by 1.95 million yearly.

The youth unemployment rate for the 15-24 age group was 19.4%, down 3.2 percentage points over the same period.

According to the data, last year saw 4.8 million people employed in agriculture, 6.6 million in industry, 1.8 million in construction and 17.3 million in service sectors. While the number of employed persons decreased by 82,000 in the agriculture sector, it increased by 520,000 in the industrial sector, 69,000 in the construction sector, and 1.4 million in the service sector compared to the previous year.

Regarding the percentage of those employed, 15.8% were in agriculture, 21.7% were in the industry, 6% were in construction, and 56.5% were in the service sector. As a result, the industrial sector's share increased by 0.4 points, and the service sector grew by 1.2 points compared to the previous year. On the other hand, the percentage of the agricultural sector decreased by 1.4 points, and the construction sector's share fell by 0.2 points.

Additionally, the rate of underemployment due to time, potential labor force, and unemployment decreased by 3.1 percentage points compared to the previous year, resulting in 21.3%. The combined rate of time-related underemployment and unemployment was 14.6%, while the combined rate of unemployment and the potential workforce was 17.4%.

Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati said Türkiye’s increased production and new investments have led to a historically high level of employment.

In a statement on Twitter, Nebati emphasized that despite ongoing global risks, such as the pandemic, wars, climate and energy crises, and geopolitical tensions, Türkiye remains focused on creating new opportunities and eliminating these risks. He stated that the Turkish Economy Model is the right step at the right time to strengthen the country's value-added production power, overcome the middle-income trap, and position Türkiye as one of the top 10 economies that shape the future, Daily Sabah reports.