Bursa ranked third in employment gain after Istanbul and Izmir

ANKARA- Outperforming Ankara in employment gain, Bursa ranked third following Istanbul and Izmir.

The seventh issue of the TEPAV Employment Monitoring Bulletin reports that in February 2012, overall insured waged employment increased year-on-year by 875,394 to 10,845,430. In line with expectations, the highest rise in employment was recorded in Istanbul, with a share of 30.8 percent. The number of insured waged workers in Istanbul increased by 9 percent (269,743). The Bulletin said, “With its population approaching 13 million with an average annual rise of 300,000, insured waged employment in Istanbul increases constantly, led by retail trade, construction and transportation sectors. The number of insured waged workers in the city reached 3,280,000, slightly above 30 percent of overall employment across Turkey.”

As the Bulletin suggests, in Ankara that closely follows Istanbul in employment figures employment gain, insured waged employment increased year-on-year by 43,000 and reached 896,000.

Annual employment gain in Izmir was slightly above that in Ankara. The number of insured waged workers in Izmir exceeded 719,000. The city therefore raised its share in overall employment to 6.6 percent.

Excluding the three metropolitans, the largest year-on-year increases in employment in February 2012 were recorded in neighboring Mersin, Adana, Gaziantep, and Şanlıurfa. The total rise in employment in these four cities was 100,000. Total employment gain in Bursa, Kocaeli, and Tekirdağ, industrial cities neighboring Istanbul, was around 90,000.