Italy's youth unemployment hits new high as overall rate drops

(ANSA) - Rome, September 30 - The jobless rate among young Italians rose to a new record high in August, reaching 44.2%, while unemployment overall fell slightly to 12.3% during the month, national statistics agency Istat said Tuesday.
    Unemployment among Italians between 15 and 24 who are in the job market, reached levels not seen since 1977 when Istat first began keeping these specific records.
    Youth joblessness also rose 1% compared with July and jumped by 3.6% compared with the same time last year.
    That is bound to be a serious concern for Premier Matteo Renzi, whose government - like administrations all over Europe - have made reducing unemployment among young citizens a high priority. Renzi has also said that jobs for youth would be a top priority during Italy's six months in the duty presidency of the European Union, which continues until the end of this year.
    An EU summit on employment has been set for October 8 in Milan.
    Students and young people who are not actively looking for work are not included in the Istat calculation.
    Farm organization Coldiretti said that poor summer weather contributed to the record-high levels of youth unemployment by reducing the number of temporary jobs related to tourism and even early fruit harvests.
    "A crazy summer" of cool weather and heavy rains in parts of the country cut work for temporary lifeguards, cooks and waiters at tourist spots as some 4.2 million people changed their holiday plans because of the bad weather, Coldiretti said.
    Still, there are serious underlying economic problems keeping young Italians from finding meaningful work, and this threatens to "burn" the country's future, warned Marco Gay industrial employer group Confindustria's Young Entrepreneurs branch.
    "Italy needs a strong policy for youth employment, for the revival of the country," said Gay.