Nearly 7 mn Italians jobless,4 mn forced to part-time-update

(ANSA) - Rome, May 20 - Almost seven million people were jobless last year, including 3.2 million actively searching and another 3.5 million available but discouraged, national statistical agency Istat said Wednesday.
    The numbers in the job hunt rose by 5.5% from 2013, the agency added.
    The only form or work actually growing was part-time employment, now accounting for four million workers, or 18% of the total.
    Some 63.3% of those workers were forced to take part-time hours, more than double the 24.4% average in the EU, said Istat.
    About 784,000 more part-time workers were reported last year in Italy compared with 2008.