Italy’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 5.7%

ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s unemployment rate dipped to 5.7% in November, the lowest reading since the current series began in 2004. However, 13,000 jobs were lost during the month, according to national statistics bureau ISTAT.

The jobless rate in October was 5.8%, and a Reuters survey of 11 analysts had forecast a November reading of 5.9%.

In the September-to-November period, employment was up by 49,000 or 0.2%, compared with the previous three months, ISTAT reported.

In November, the number of people in work increased by 328,000, or 1.4%, compared with November 2023.

In the same month, the number of so-called “inactive” people, those neither in work nor seeking work, rose by 23,000 (or 0.2%) from October, and by 323,000 (or 2.6%) year-on-year.

The youth unemployment rate, measuring job-seekers aged 15 to 24, increased to 19.2% in November from a revised 17.8% the month before.

Italy’s overall employment rate, one of the lowest in the eurozone, remained stable in November at 62.4%.

ISTAT Data Overview:

• Jobless Rate: 5.7% (Nov), 5.8% (Oct), 6.0% (Sept)
• Youth Unemployment Rate (15-24): 19.2% (Nov), 17.8% (Oct), 18.9% (Sept)
• Employment Rate (15-64): 62.4% (Nov), 62.4% (Oct), 62.3% (Sept)

*Note: “r” denotes revised figures.