Italian jobless rate drops in December to 12.9% - update 2

(ANSA) - Rome, January 30 - Italy's unemployment rate dropped in December to 12.9% from the revised 13.3% in November, national statistics agency Istat said Friday.
    The news comes as both a surprise and good news for the government of Italian Premier Matteo Renzi.
    Istat said that the decrease of 0.4% represented a recovery from what had been the highest rate since it began this measurement in 1977.
    The jobless rate had been stuck at 13.3% for both October and November, making it difficult for Renzi to argue his government is a good steward of the economy.
    At the same time, Istat reported that the youth jobless rate also dropped dramatically in December, to 42% from the previous 43%.
    It added that its statistics are provisional and could be revised further.
    Istat said that 22.42 million Italians were employed last month, while 3.322 were unemployed and looking for work.