Italy's growth to slow to 0.4% in 2023 - ISTAT

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 6 - ISTAT said Tuesday that it expects Italy's GDP to rise 3.9% this year but added that it forecasts growth will slow down to 0.4% in 2023.
    The national statistics agency said it expects employment levels to rise more than growth, with a 4.3% increase this year and 0.5% next.
    It said it expects unemployment for 2022 to come in at 8.1% and that, despite the increase in employment levels, it sees the jobless rate edging up to 8.2% in 2023.
    Fitch, meanwhile, said Tuesday that it has a less optimistic view of Italy's growth prospects, although the outlook is not as negative as it had been.
    It said it sees GDP increasing by 3.7% and contracting by 0.1% in 2023, explaining that it had revised down it forecast of negative growth by 0.6 of a percentage point in view of a slight easing of the gas crisis. (ANSA).