Jobless rate drops to 12.9% in December

(ANSA) - Rome, January 30 - The surprise drop in Italy's unemployment rate to 12.9% in December from the revised 13.3% one month before is good news, but the best is still to come, Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said Friday.
    The employment picture in Italy has only just begun to improve, thanks to government labour reforms, Renzi said in a post on his Twitter feed, following the report from national statistics agency Istat.
    "More than one hundred thousand jobs in one month. Great, But we're just beginning. Italy will bring back growth," Renzi said in a tweet.
    Earlier, Istat said that employment in December increased by 0.4% or 93,000 jobs compared with the previous month.
    Compared with the same time one year earlier, the number of jobs grew by 0.5%, or 109,000 jobs.
    The decrease of 0.4% in the jobless rate represents a recovery from what had been the highest rate since Istat began this measurement in 1977, the agency said.
    "This report is definitely good news," said Labour Minister Giuliano Poletti.
    Italy's unemployment rate had been stuck at 13.3% for both October and November, making it difficult for Renzi to argue his government has been a good steward of the economy, and to defend his controversial Jobs Act measures.
    Meanwhile, 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.
    The figures came as a surprise, representing a large drop from 43% the month before among people aged 15 to 25 who were active in the employment market. Youth unemployment has been a persistent problem across Europe for several years.
    Istat said that overall, 22.42 million Italians were employed last month, while 3.322 million were unemployed and looking for work.
    But while the jobless report was a rare piece of good news for Italy, separate statistics showed the broader 19-State eurozone economy slipped into deflation in January.
    The annual rate of inflation in January fell to a -0.6% compared with a rate of 0.2% in December, Eurostat reported Friday. The fall in prices was attributed to lower energy costs, which dropped by 8.9% in January.
    The report provides further justification for the European Central Bank as it presses ahead with its controversial quantitative easing plan to boost growth and inflation towards a 2% target.
    Eurostat said the last time the inflation rate was this low came in the middle of 2009.