Italy’s jobless rate hits all time high - Gayo Lues

The data, released on Monday, showed that there were 1.2 percent more jobless Italians in February than the same month last year and 0.2 percent more than in January. This leaves almost 2.4 million Italians looking for work.

The statistics also showed that the unemployment rate among 15- to 24-year-olds climbed to 32 percent in February from 31.1 percent the previous month.

The new employment rate in Italy stands at its highest level since the country began calculating monthly employment records in 2004.

Italy’s economy, the third largest in the eurozone, entered recession in the second half of last year and unemployment had peaked at 9.1 percent in January.

The country’s unemployment situation is, however, better than the average of the 17 countries that use the euro currency.

According to official figures by Eurostat, the European Union statistics office, unemployment in the eurozone rose to an average of 10.8 percent in February, up from 10.7 percent the previous month.

Tough austerity measures, spending cuts and pension changes introduced by Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti’s government have stirred serious concerns for many people already grappling with the European country’s ailing economy.

Italians have been staging demonstrations to protest against high unemployment, economic adversity and the hardship triggered by the government-introduced labor reforms.

The government says the reforms are needed to create jobs, increase competition and cut costs in the third largest eurozone economy.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund says it expects the Italian economy to contract 2.2 percent this year, while the government has forecast a decline of around 0.4 or 0.5 percent.

MN/MF/GHN