World Bulletin/News Desk

The unemployment rate in Turkey rose into double-digit figures in August for the first time since February, according to figures released Monday.

Increasing by 0.3 percentage point from the previous month's figure of 9.8 percent, the country's unemployment rate rose to 10.1 percent in August, the Turkish Statistical Office, Turkstat said.

The number of unemployed people aged 15 and over rose to 2.94 million, an increase of 77,000.

Challenged by a weak recovery in Europe, which is Turkey's main export market, and by the geopolitical crisis in Iraq, Turkey’s economic growth slowed to 2.1 percent from 4.7 percent in the first quarter.

Weak growth immediately shows up in rising unemployment because the number of people looking for jobs is increasing rapidly due to the country’s young population reaching working age.