Unemployment rises 11.5% but 51,000+ in work says Istat

(ANSA) - Rome, May 31 - Italy's unemployment rate rose to 11.7% in April, up from 11.5% in March (a figure that has been revised), Istat said on Tuesday. The national statistics agency said that the increase was largely down to a rise in the number of people on the labour market, as the number of people in employment actually climbed last month too. The agency said the unemployment rate was 0.4 of a percentage point lower than in April 2015. It said the number of people who were unemployed in April was 2,986,000, up 50,000 with respect to March, but 93,000 fewer than in April 2015.

The increase in people on the job market saw both the number of those unemployed and employed rise in April, Istat said on Tuesday. The national statistics agency said the number of people considered inactive dropped by 113,000 with respect to March and by 292,000 with respect to April 2015. It said the number of employed people was up by 51,000 on March and by 215,000 on April 2015, spearheaded by a rise in the number of over-50s in work. The number of unemployed people was up 50,000 on March but down by 93,000 on April 2015.

Tuesday's jobs data from Istat showing those employed up 455,000 between this April and April 2014 "are absolutely the highest in four years but they are still low compared to what we want to achieve," Premier Matteo Renzi said Tuesday. "It isn't enough for us to have improved on the last four years and we must do even better," he said.