Italy unemployment drops to 11.2 percent month-on-month

Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-02 20:59:39|Editor: liuxin
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ROME, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Italy's unemployment rate dropped 0.2 percent to 11.2 percent in August compared to July, national statistics agency ISTAT reported Monday.

The unemployment rate fell 0.4 percent compared to August 2016, with 375,000 people finding work in the period, ISTAT said.

The jobless rate for 15-to-24-year-olds fell to 35.1 percent in August, 0.2 percent down on July and 2.2 percentage points lower than in August 2016.

This is down from 42.7 percent youth unemployment in 2014 and 37.8 percent in 2016, according to European statistics agency EUROSTAT.

Italian lawmakers have been struggling to reduce youth unemployment, one of the highest in the European Union.

In 2016, Italy's youth unemployment rate was exceeded only by Greece at 47.3 percent and Spain at 44.4 percent.

On the other end of the spectrum, just 7.1 percent of German youth couldn't find jobs last year, followed by 10.5 percent of people aged 15-24 in the Czech Republic, according to EUROSTAT.

Also in August, the employment rate rose 0.1 percent to 58.2 percent month-on-month, ISTAT said.

The jobs growth occurred across all age groups except 35-49 year-olds and is "wholly due to the female component", ISTAT analysts wrote.

The drop in jobs in the 35-49 age group was "determined by a demographic decrease", and there were more new temporary jobs, while permanent jobs remained stable, the Italian statistics agency said.

Italy has been lagging behind most of the rest of the EU in terms of economic recovery, and unemployment is among the key issues for Italian voters ahead of the next general election likely to be held in spring 2018.

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