The latest official data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed that the unemployment rate climbed to 11.5 percent in March. The number of jobless people increased by 153,000 from a month ago to 3.95 million, Qazet.az reports.

However, the employment agency, İŞKUR, reported that there were 3.58 million registered unemployed people in the country in April, down 1.4 percent from the previous month. Some 51 percent of the unemployed were men, 49 percent were women and 34 percent of them were those aged between 15 and 24.

İŞKUR also unveiled the vacant jobs data. Businesses from all provinces apply to İŞKUR to find people to hire, specifying the qualifications they seek, such as education and experience. İŞKUR mediates between job seekers and businesses.

In April alone, İŞKUR received more than 20,000 applications from businesses, while since the start of the year, it received 705,000 applications, of which 98 percent came from the private sector. Between January and April, most of the applications were filed by manufacturing companies.

In the first four months of this year, some 464,000 people, including 139,000 in April, found a job through İŞKUR, which meant 65 percent of the companies succeeded in finding employees who met their requirements.