After a rocky 2016, in terms of job creation in Turkey with figures dipping as low as 137,000, the country has created more than 1.1 million jobs so far this year, Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said yesterday.

Canikli said the unemployment rate in Turkey has continued to decrease. This number reached in job creation corresponds to almost a tenfold increase compared to last year.

Emphasizing that Turkey must grow continuously in order to increase employment and national income, Canikli said it was important that all economic players contribute to the growth.

He noted that banks were valuable as long as they support production, adding that banks were not a goal, but a means to boost growth and increase production.

Referring to foreign interest in the banking sector, Canikli said the Turkish banking sector is among the world's most popular ones, because their profitability ratios are at a good level and they have robust financial structures.

Canikli said they have actualized reforms over the past year that are not easy to accomplish within some four to five government periods and added that they will continue to carry out reforms in line with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's order for a 180-day working program.

The latest of these reforms has been the Production Reform Package that will contribute to the real economy.