Turkish Statistics Institute

Turkey's unemployment rate dropped to 10.2 percent in May, which covered the April-June period, falling further from a seven-year high at the start of the year but up from 9.4 percent in the same month last year, data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) showed on Aug. 15.

Turkey's unemployment rate declined to 10.5 percent in the April period, which covered data from March to May, falling further from a seven-year high at the start of the year but up from 9.5 percent a year earlier, official data showed on July 17. 

Ankara is continuing efforts to implement further structural economic reforms, Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said on July 5.

"We will continue to implement reforms. As per instructions of our president, we have a 180-day action plan and efforts are underway to implement it," Canikli said. 

Turkey's unemployment rate dropped to 11.7 percent in the February-April period, dipping further from a seven-year high at the start of the year but up from 10.1 percent a year earlier, official data showed on June 15. 

Turkey's annual consumer price inflation stood at 11.72 percent in May, easing off from the 8-year high that it hit a month earlier at 11.87 percent, official data showed on June 5. 

The annual rate is still far from the Central Bank's 5 percent target.

Consumer prices rose 0.45 percent in May from the previous month, data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) showed. 

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said it is a must for the Turkish government to slash unemployment rate, which hit nearly 13 percent, to single digits again, underlining the country's strengths and weaknesses on the road to achieving this goal. 

Turkey's foreign trade deficit rose to 4.95 billion in April with a 16.7 percent year-on-year increase, official data showed on May 31. 

While the country's imports surged 9.9 percent year-on-year to $17.7 billion, exports rose 7.4 percent to $12.8 billion, according to data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK). 

The Turkish Economic Confidence Index rose 1.1 percent to 100.5 points in May, hitting the highest level since November 2015, official data showed on May 26. 

The economic confidence index thus advanced for the fourth straight month in May, after it tumbled to record lows in December 2016 and January 2017. 

The Turkish government's measures to ease skyrocketing prices are ready to be applied, amid aims to gradually bring down inflation rate to single digits again, a top official announced on May 22. 

Consumer confidence rose to its highest in seven months in May, up to 72.8 points from 71.3 points a month earlier, official data showed on May 18.

However, this still reflects a pessimistic outlook and would need to rise above 100 to reflect optimism.