: Turkeys economic situation is always fragile. The lira devaluation in February 2001 (a 40 percent devaluation), sparked by a failed counter-corruption drive, has made Turkeys economic problems even more perilous. How bad is it? The Turkish government reports that between January 1, 2001 and March 31, Turkeys unemployment rate jumped 24.7 percent. Most of the new jobless were created after the devaluation. The raw numbers are these: total unemployed on March 31 reached 1.8 million, a jump of 358,000 from January. And it looks like the slide in employment is continuing. This means more urban unrest in general and increasing radical agitation, particularly from Iranian-backed Islamists.