Purchasing managers' activity falls in new blow to economy

(ANSA) - Rome, September 1 - Purchasing managers' activity fell in August to 49.8 points from the previous 51.9 points in July, Markit Economics said Monday. The Purchasing Managers' Index sets 50 as the border between expansion in the economy and contraction.
    The August measure suggests that activity has contracted after more than a year of expansion and is the latest in a long string of bad economic news for Italy.
    Declines were also measured across Europe, including in France, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands.
    Last Friday, Italy received confirmation that the economy is in recession, adding to the lengthening list of economic woes that included new evidence of rising unemployment and a significant threat of deflation.
    National statistical agency Istat reported that the Italian economy did fall by 0.2% in the second quarter, confirming earlier estimates that the economy is in recession.
    It also announced that the overall unemployment rate rose by 0.3% to reach 12.6% last month while youth joblessness unexpectedly slipped to 42.9%.
    At the same time, the number of people employed in Italy fell by 35,000 or the equivalent of more than 1,000 jobs per day in July, said Istat. Some 705,000 under-25s are looking for a job in Italy, the statistics agency said.
    The harsh economic news came just before Premier Matteo Renzi met his cabinet to discuss several major policy reforms, including measures the government hopes will help to strengthen Italy's economic underpinnings.
    Renzi's government, which must soon put together its 2015 budget, has been faced with a steady stream of bad economic indicators that included a report Friday that for the first time in more than 50 years, consumer prices fell below zero in August.