Growth may reach 1.3% in 2017 - parliament authority

(ANSA) - Rome, July 21 - The Italian parliament's budget office UPB said in a report on Friday that Italy's economic recovery had "strengthened slightly" and that GDP growth could reach 1.2-1.3% this year. But the body also sounded an alarm on jobs. It said the "area of underemployment is very large". It said when the number of unemployed, those willing to work but not active on the labour market and those who are underemployed are added up, they made up 24.5% of the labour force. It added that this tended to "compress pressure" for salary rises.