Turkey's unemployment rate rises to 10.9 percent in Oct

The number of the unemployed increased 385,000 to 2,687,000, it added. The unemployment rate was 9.7 percent in the same period in 2007.

The survey said unemployment rate was 12.8 percent in urban areas and it was 7.8 percent in rural areas.

According to the survey, the labor force participation rate for the current period was 49.1 percent.

High unemployment and huge unregistered activity remain a major challenge for the Turkish government despite several years of strong growth in the wake of two severe financial crises in 1999 and 2001.

Along with other emerging market countries, Turkey has also felt the effects of the recent global crisis in the form of a weaker currency, decreasing exports and slowing growth.
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Turkey is currently in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a fresh stand-by deal, to follow a three-year 10-billion-dollar agreement it completed in May.