IŞKUR pays $600 million to the unemployed in first 8 months of 2018

The Turkish Employment Organization (IŞKUR)'s unemployment insurance fund paid out 2.9 billion Turkish lira ($600 million) to Turkey's unemployed population during the first eight months of 2018.

According to statistics, more 106,213 people applied to the program in in August 2018 in hopes of accessing the fund.

The fund, introduced in March 2002, has provided funds for the unemployed on the grounds that they are unwillingly unemployed, having paid at least 120 days of premium before termination of the employment contract and at least 600 working days in the last three years, and applied to IŞKUR's fund within 30 days of termination of the employment contract.

Those who have worked for 600 days with insurance in the last three years receive compensation for 180 days, those who worked for 900 days receive 240 days and those who worked 1,080 days receive 300 days.

Unemployment figures indicate a minimum of TL 3 billion increase since 2014. The premium that must be paid is calculated as such: 1 percent with insurance, 2 percent employer, 1 percent government contribution.

The most recent figures by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) show Turkey's unemployment rate in June remained steady year-on-year at 10.2 percent.

The number of unemployed persons aged 15 years old and over increased by 64,000 to 3.3 million in June 2018 compared with the same month the previous year, while the number of employed persons also rose.

The labor force participation rate (LFPR) was 53.8 percent, a 0.4-percentage point annual rise, while the number of people in the labor force totaled nearly 32.6 million — rising some 675,000.