ROM (dpa-AFX) - Italy's unemployment rate increased for the third consecutive month in November, data released by statistical office Istat showed Thursday.
The unemployment rate increased to 8.6 percent in November from 8.5 percent in October. Economists expected the jobless rate to remain unchanged. In November 2010, the jobless rate was 8.3 percent. The jobless rate rose for the third month in a row.
The unemployment rate among youth rose 0.9 percentage points from the previous month to 30.1 percent in November.
The number of unemployed persons increased 0.7 percent month-on-month to 2.14 million, the agency said.
On the other hand, the employment rate dropped to 56.9 percent in November from 57 percent in October. The number of employed persons dropped 0.1 percent on a monthly basis to 22.91 million during the month.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX