Ankara: The unemployment rate in Trkiye climbed to 8.5% in February, increasing from 8.2% in January, as revealed by official figures released on Tuesday. The number of unemployed individuals rose by 133,000, reaching a total of 2.98 million, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

According to Anadolu Agency, the unemployment rate for men was reported at 6.9%, while the rate for women stood at 11.6%, as stated by TurkStat. The institute also highlighted that the labor force grew to 35.14 million, marking an increase of 286,000 during the same period.

The youth unemployment rate, covering individuals aged 15-24, saw an increase of 1.4 percentage points, reaching 15.8% compared to the previous month.