Turkish unemployment rises to 13.0% in May-July

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ISTANBUL, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Turkey's unemployment rate rose to 13.0% in the May-July period, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed on Monday, while the seasonally-adjusted rate edged down from a record high logged in the wake of a recession.

Unemployment surged to a decade high of 14.7% in the December-February period as economic activity slowed after a currency crisis saw the lira lose nearly 30% last year. The crisis led to year-over-year economic contractions in the last three quarters.

Unemployment was up 2.8 percentage points compared to a year ago, and was up from 12.8% in the previous three-month period that ended in June.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 13.9% in the same period, down a bit from 14.0% in the previous period, which was its highest level in the institute's data going back to 2005.

The non-agricultural unemployment rate rose to 15.3% from 15% a month earlier. Youth unemployment rose 5.4 percentage points to almost 25%, the data also showed.

Turkish jobless rate remains elevatedhttps://tmsnrt.rs/2FugQCy

(Reporting by Can Sezer; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Ezgi Erkoyun and Jonathan Spicer)

((daren.butler@tr.com; +90-212-350 7053; Reuters Messaging: daren.butler.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

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