Italy's unemployment rate remained unchanged in December

According to the report from Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), in December 2019, in comparison with the previous month, employment decreased, inactivity rose and the number of unemployed slightly grew while the unemployment rate remained unchanged.

The estimate of employed people decreased (-0.3%, -75 thousand); the employment rate went down to 59.2% (-0.1 percentage points).

The fall of employment concerned both men and women. A rise is observed among 15-24 aged people (+6 thousand), people aged 25-49 decreased (-79 thousand), while people over 50 remained stable.

The number of unemployed persons slightly grew (+0.1%, +2 thousand in the last month); the increase was the result of a growth among men (+2.2%, +28 thousand) and a decrease for women (-2.2%, -27 thousand), and involved people under 50. The unemployment rate remained stable at 9.8%, as also the youth rate, unchanged at 28.9%.

In the fourth quarter 2019, in comparison with the previous one, a slight increase of employment is registered (+0.1%, +13 thousand) and it concerned only women.

Compared with December 2018, employment increased by 0.6% (+136 thousand). The growth concerned both men and women, and all age groups, with the exception of people aged 35-49.

On a yearly basis, the rise of employment was accompanied by a fall of unemployed persons (-5.3%, -143 thousand) and inactive people aged 15-64 (-0.9%, -115 thousand).