Data from the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) showed that in February the unemployment rate rose to 7.5% (the highest value since November) from 7.3% in January (revised from 7.2%). Economists had expected the unemployment rate to decrease to 7.2%. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed increased by 46 thousand or 2.5% compared to January, to around 1.912 million,
ISTAT also stated that the number of employed people increased by 41 thousand or 0.2% m/m. Employment growth affected men and people aged 25 and over, while employment decreased for women and those under 25. Overall, the employment rate climbed to 61.9% (+0.1 p.p.).
Over the past three months (through February), the number of employed people increased by 65 thousand or 0.3% compared to the previous three-month period (September-November 2023). Meanwhile, the number of unemployed fell by 65 thousand or 3.3% compared to September-November 2023.
The data also showed that in annual terms, the number of employed increased by 351 thousand or 1.5% in February, while the employment rate rose by 0.8%. The rise of employed people was accompanied by a fall of both unemployed people (-3.2%, -63 thousand) and inactive persons aged 15-64 (-1.9%, -239 thousand).