Data published by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat) showed that in the third quarter the unemployment rate fell by 0.6% to 6.1% (the lowest value since the fourth quarter of 2007). Economists expected a decrease to 6.6%. The number of unemployed fell by 149 thousand or 8.7% q/q, and the number of inactive people aged 15-64 increased by 88 thousand or 0.7% q/q. Meanwhile, the number of employed people increased by 117 thousand (+0.5% compared to the second quarter), which was due to an increase in the number of permanent workers (+111 thousand, +0.7%) and self-employed (+43 thousand, +0.8%). However, the number of temporary workers fell by 37 thousand or by 1.3% q/q. Overall, the employment rate increased by 0.2% q/q, to 62.4%.
On a quarterly basis, total labour cost increases by 1.0%, as also recorded by wages and social contributions. Compared to the same quarter of 2023, labor cost rises at a significant pace, equal to 4.6%, due to an increase both in wages (+4.3%) and a more marked increase in social contributions (+5.1%).