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ITALY

Italy’s jobless rate hits record high

Italy's unemployment rate hit a record of 12.5 percent in September, up 0.1 percent from the August level, initial data from the national statistics agency showed on Thursday.

Italy's jobless rate hits record high
Italy's unemployment rate hit 12.5 percent in September. Photo: AFP

On a 12-month comparison, the unemployment rate rose by 1.6 percentage points, Istat said in a statement.

The number of people looking for work rose to 3.194 million – a 0.9 percent increase from August and 14 percent higher than in September 2012.

Among the active working population of 15-24-year-olds, the unemployment rate also hit a new record of 40.4 percent, up 0.2 percent on August and 4.4 points higher than a year ago, Istat said.

Over one young person in 10 (10.9 percent) in that age range is looking for work, it said.

Read also about how business confidence in Italy has dipped as economic recovery drags.

Italy has been mired in a recession for two years and unemployment has been rising for months. The government has said it is expecting a gradual recovery to start towards the end of this year.

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