The number of Turkish employees who lost their jobs in 2008 due to the ongoing global financial crisis makes up 31 percent of the population of Turkish workers in some 55 countries, according to a recently released report from the Ministry of Labor.

The number of Turkish workers or job seekers abroad had reached 1.34 million as of 2007, of whom 17.7 percent were without work. The ministry's report states that many Turks living overseas have decided to return to their homeland amidst a growing unemployment problem.  Today's interactive toolboxVideo Photo Audio Send to print Send to my friend Post your comments Read comments Official Turkish data put the number of Turks living abroad at 3.66 million, with 3.1 million residing in Western Europe, 291,000 in the US and Canada, 112,203 in the Middle East, 61,500 in Australia, 31,000 in the Turkic republics, 30,326 in Israel and 26,000 in Russia. The majority of European civil institutions and unions, however, say there are some 4.2 million Turks living in Europe alone and that 1.4 million of them are employed.  The ministry report says the number of Turkish workers abroad has exceeded 1.3 million, and the majority, some 1.03 million, work in Western European countries. According to Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) figures, unemployment in Turkey has reached a peak, approaching a historic high of 15.5 percent, which translates to some 3.6 million jobless in the country. Analysts suggest this number has increased with the arrival of Turks who were left jobless in foreign countries. Turkish workers are found mostly in regions where companies from Turkey have made sizeable investments. Now that the crisis has hit these places harder than any other, Turkish workers in these countries are facing serious problems. The Turkish Employment Organization (İŞKUR) sent some 141,734 Turkish workers to 55 countries in 2006 and 2007 combined. The largest group went to Russia, while Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan accepted 14,402 Turkish workers in the same period. Many these workers now have little choice but to return to Turkey due to the crisis. An important detail is that most of these workers were well-trained personnel, yet the ministry has not released a figure for the number of these workers who have returned.Number of jobless Turks jumps in EuropeAmong countries where Turks are densely concentrated, Belgium, France and Germany have the highest number of unemployed Turks, while Liechtenstein has the lowest. Among all countries, the fewest unemployed Turks live in Japan, followed by Switzerland. In both countries, Turkish workers are engaged in relatively high-status jobs. In Germany, some 387,000 people lost their jobs in January, and the number of unemployed in the country hit 3.49 million, 8.3 percent of the entire labor force. The 732,000 Turkish in Germany have been badly affected by the crisis, as the unemployment rate among Turks living in Germany increased from 23.3 percent in 2007 to 29.2 percent in 2008. France, which is home to the second-largest Turkish population in Europe after Germany, has 32,623 jobless Turks. The unemployment rate among Turks in this country jumped from 30 percent in 2007 to 35 percent in 2008. Around 42 percent of Turks in Belgium are unemployed, the highest rate in Europe, according to 2008 year-end figures. Of the 51,000 Turkish workers in the Netherlands, 17,000 are jobless. The unemployed in Austria number only 6,874, a relatively low figure compared to the rest of Europe.There are some 23,000 Turkish workers in the Turkic republics, mostly working in the construction sector. Turkish workers in Middle East lucky amid crisisAs can be deduced from general indices, the oil-rich states of the Middle East have by far faced the least problems due to the crisis. Very few Turkish workers in the Middle East and North Africa have lost their jobs amid the crisis. İŞKUR says this stems mainly from the fact that countries in the region accept a limited number of employees and because Turkish companies in the region primarily choose to hire Turkish workers. İŞKUR also notes that many Turks who have lost jobs in Europe have applied for jobs in the Middle East. There are 112,203 Turks in the Middle East, and 105,089 of them are employed. Of the 102,121 Turks in Saudi Arabia alone, 95,000 have jobs. Of the Turks living in Qatar, 400 are employed in various sectors.According to 2007 figures, one out of every three Turkish workers in Russia had to return to Turkey. There were some 10,514 Turkish workers in the country, but this number has fallen to 6,000. Most Turkish construction companies in Russia have suspended operations, leaving 2,000 workers jobless and some without even enough money to return to Turkey.Meanwhile, the population of foreign workers in Turkey has increased remarkably. While there were only 855 recorded foreign workers in Turkey in 2003, this number increased to 28,198 in 2008. The majority of foreign workers in Turkey are employed in the tourism sector, according to İŞKUR. 24 April 2009, FridayERCAN YAVUZ  ANKARA