ROME, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Italy's unemployment rate slightly increased in January against the previous month, estimates by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) showed on Thursday.
At the same time, the jobless rate among youth aged 15-24 decreased more consistently. The ISTAT said that overall unemployment rose by 0.2 percent to 11.1 percent compared to December. It concerned more female workers (2.9 percent) than male workers (1.7 percent), and all of the age groups.
Youth unemployment decreased by 1.2 percent to 31.5 percent on a monthly basis, the estimates also showed. This was the lowest level since 2011.
The jobless rate among the people under 24 decreased by 6.0 percent in January compared to the same month of 2017, ISTAT said.
In terms of absolute numbers, some 23 million people were employed in January (a 0.1 percent rise against the previous month), while jobless people were 2.88 millions (2.3 percent rise).
ISTAT also registered an upward trend among workers actively looking for a job: after five consecutive drops, their number grew by 2.3 percent -- or 64,000 units -- in January against December.
