In a development that showed the desperation of some Turks for a job, 44,000 people applied for a job in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa when only 1,000 people would be employed for a period of nine months, the Diken news website reported on Friday.
The 1,000 workers would be temporarily employed by the Şanlıurfa National Education Directorate and would do jobs such as cleaning schools and gardening.
When 44,000 people applied for the job through the offices of the Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR), the drawing of lots was made in a football stadium during which the 1,000 workers to be employed were determined.
Around 43,000 people whose name did not emerge from the drawing had to return home in disappointment.
The September unemployment data in Turkey, released on Dec. 17, 2018, showed the jobless rate hit 11.4 percent in September, up from 10.6 percent in September 2017. The army of jobless grew by 330,000 people over the course of a year, reaching nearly 3.8 million.
Apart from the rising overall unemployment rate, the increase in youth unemployment has also drawn attention. According to the data, youth unemployment reached 21.6 percent in September, up from 20 percent in the same period of 2017. Jobless youths numbered some 1.16 million, or nearly a third of the country’s unemployed.