Data from the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) showed that in November the unemployment rate fell by 0.2%, to 7.5%, reaching the lowest value since August. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to rise to 7.9%. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed decreased by 66 thousand or 3.3% compared to October.
ISTAT also stated that the number of employed people increased by 30 thousand or 0.1% m/m. Employment growth concerned women and people aged 35 or more, while the youngest decreased and men were substantially stable. Overall, the employment rate remained unchanged at 61.8%.
Over the past three months (through November), the number of employed people has increased by 130 thousand or 0.6% compared to the previous three-month period (June-August 2023). Meanwhile, the number of unemployed increased by 14 thousand or 0.7% compared to June-August 2023.
The data also showed that in annual terms, the number of employed increased by 520 thousand or 2.2% in November, while the employment rate rose by 1.3%. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed decreased by 71 thousand or 3.6% per year.
The positive jobs data is in contrast to Italy's stuttering economy, which grew by a marginal 0.1% QoQ in Q3 2023 after contracting by 0.4% in Q2.