Türkiye's unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percentage points to 8.5% in August compared to the month earlier, according to official data shared by the country's statistical authority on Thursday.

The number of unemployed individuals aged 15 and above fell by 89,000 to 3.055 million, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said.

The jobless rate for men was estimated at 7%, while it was 11.4% for women.

Unemployment among young people aged 15-24 rose slightly by 0.1 percentage point compared to the previous month to 16.5%, the data showed.

Employment figures showed improvement, with the number of individuals with jobs rising by 78,000 to 32.776 million in August.

The seasonally adjusted employment rate rose by 0.1 points to 49.7%, while labor force participation declined slightly to 54.3%, as per data.

Commenting on the data Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz pointed to the increase in employment compared to the same month last year, underscoring they "continue to follow balances" in the labor market.

"Despite the stabilizing trend in economic activity, unemployment decreased while the number of employed people and the employment rate increased," he said in a post on X.

He pointed to the increase in employment of 1.1 million people compared to August last year to 32.77 million while noting that the employment rate also surged by 1.3% points to 49.7.

"The increase in employment and decrease in the unemployment rate reveal the effectiveness of the implemented economic policies," said Yılmaz.

"The predictability provided by the disinflation process has reduced the uncertainties in the decision-making processes of economic actors," he added.

Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Işıkhan similarly drew attention to the positive trend in jobless figures, adding that the employment outlook continues in line with the Medium Term Program (MTP).

"The unemployment rate has been in single digits for the last 16 months," the minister wrote on X.

"We will continue our determination to combat unemployment and our efforts to support employment," he vowed.

The jobless rate is projected to come in at 9.3% this year, the government announced as part of revisions of main economic forecasts in MTP, changing it from last year's projection of 10.3%.

The rate is predicted to stand at 9.6% in 2025 and 9.2% in 2026 before falling to 8.8% in 2027.