The number of people who work in the manufacturing sector dropped for the first time in some seven years due partially to the restructuring of large companies, including shipbuilders and IT firms.
 
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Tuesday, the number of employed persons stood at roughly 12-point-six million last month, up two-point-four percent from the same period in 2015.
 
Though the figure marked a rise, the margin of growth sharply contracted.
 
In particular, manufacturing companies saw the number of employed persons shrink by 400 to some three-point-six million last month due to restructuring and a prolonged slump in exports.
 
The last time the number of workers in the manufacturing industry saw a drop was in October 2009 shortly after the global financial crisis. At the time, the number of employed persons plunged by eight-thousand.