Data from the Turkish employment agency showed the number of Turks paid unemployment benefits swelled to 143,419 last month, up from 96,171 in the same month last year. Turkey's unemployment rate, measured on a three-month average, stood at 9.0 percent in May-July this year, and economists fear that the rate will rise in the second half of the year as the country feels the global economic crisis. The employment agency says 2.5 million people are unemployed in Turkey and actively search for work, out of a population of more than 70 million. Turkish newspapers quoted business leaders warning that the jobless number could rise to 4 million if the government did not take adequate measures to stimulate the economy. Turkey's annual gross domestic product growth slowed to 1.9 percent in the second quarter, sharply down from 6.7 percent in the first quarter.