Unemployment declined slightly
the number of employed persons IN MARCH, increased by 139,000 compared to the previous month and became 32,588,000, while the employment rate increased by 0.2 points to 49.5%. The labor force increased by 121,000 in a month and became 35,645,000, while the labor force participation rate increased by 0.2 points to 54.2%. The number of unemployed decreased by 19,000 to 3,057,000. The unemployment rate declined by 0.1 points to 8.6%.
Youth unemployment rate, which covers the 15-24 age group, decreased by 0.4 points compared to the previous month and became 15.1%. The idle labor force rate, or broad-defined unemployment, decreased by 0.4 points to 24.1%.
STRONG GROWTH IN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION
While the industrial production index increased annually by 4.3% in February, it decreased by 0.3 percent from a month ago. While it is noteworthy that the data still shows a strong performance, the factor that pulled industrial production up the most was the increase in the production of hightech products. Industrial production of high-tech products rose 34.4% yearon-year and 16% monthly.
While the increase in manufacturing industry production was 4%, the rise in mining and electricity-gas-steam-air conditioning was 7.5% and 5.1%, respectively. Output of intermediate and durable goods increased by 5%, while non-durable goods fell by 1.5%.
MONTHLY INCREASE IN CONSTRUCTION COSTS REMAINED BELOW INFLATION
The construction cost index increased by 2.1% in March from a month ago and by 69.98% in a year. Compared to the previous month, the material index increased by 2.54% and the labor index by 1.30%. The annual increase in the material index was 55.17%, while the labor index increased by 108.04% in the same period.
CDS PREMIUMS DECLINE
Turkey’s CDS premiums continue to decline due to the cumulative effects of credit rating upgrades, a decline in the current account deficit, an improvement in the FX reserve position, a tightening in monetary policy, and improved fiscal discipline. The indicator, which declined to 274 points, thus returned to the period before the ultra-loose
monetary policy implementation that started in 2021.
SHARE OF FX IN DEPOSITS DECLINES
The share of Turkish Lira deposits in total deposits in the banking system became 51% on April 2, according to Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) data. The share of FX-denominated accounts was 36.6%, and the share of FX-protected TRY deposits (KKM) was 12.5% in the same period.
The total size of the KKM accounts, which entered our lives in February 2022, is now TRY 2.25tr (USD 70.2bn), and its share in total deposits has fallen to its lowest level since June 2022.
Deposit accounts held in foreign currency reached as high as USD 261bn at the end of 2021 when the exchange rate jumped. At that time, these accounts accounted for 70% of the deposits held in the banking system. Today, the share of foreign currency accounts in total deposits, which have fallen to USD 205.4bn, is 36.6%. Including the KKM accounts, 49% of our system consists of foreign or foreign currency-indexed accounts.