New figures have indicated the rate of employment is improving more rapidly than expected, a Turkish politician has declared.

Commenting on the latest data, the country's deputy prime minister Ali Babacan said he was happy with the pace of recovery, noting that an additional 293,000 people were in jobs in February 2010 than in the same month of last year, the Anatolia news agency reports.

He explained that, with seasonal effects taken into consideration, the current jobless rate stands at 12.7 per cent, down by 1.7 per cent over the period in question.

According to the minister, policies introduced by the government in June 2009 had helped to boost employment in Turkey and retain jobs, with strong rises over the year in the manufacturing and construction industries.

Turkey has a total population of around 71.5 million with an average age of 28.5 years and is currently in negotiations about joining the European Union.

Posted by Alex Donnell