ROME, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Italian unemployment rose for the second consecutive month while third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) fell for the first time since the second quarter of 2014, national statistics agency ISTAT reported Friday.
Joblessness rose for the second consecutive month to 10.6 percent in October compared to 10.4 percent in September, with youth unemployment ticking up by 0.1 percent to 32.5 percent, ISTAT said.
In comparison, the unemployment rate in the 19-country eurozone in October was stable at 8.1 percent compared to the previous month, and stood at 6.7 percent in the European Union (EU), marking its lowest level since January 2000, according to European statistics agency EUROSTAT. Italy's unemployment rate came third after Spain and Greece.
In the third quarter of 2018, Italy's GDP at chained volume measure decreased by 0.1 percent compared to the previous quarter, with domestic consumption down 0.1 percent and gross fixed capital formation down 1.1 percent, according to ISTAT.
In comparison to Italy's downward trend, the GDP of the eurozone increased by 0.2 percent in the third quarter, as EUROSTAT reported.
Meanwhile, imports and exports both gained ground, increasing 0.8 percent and 1.1 percent respectively. The carry-over annual GDP rate of growth for 2018 is equal to 0.9 percent, ISTAT said.
Also on Friday, analysts at the think-tank of Italy's Confindustria industrialists' association estimated that industrial production will drop 0.5 percent in November compared to October, and 0.7 percent, compared to the same period last year.
"Industrial production has gradually lost ground during 2018: November levels are down 2.1 percent compared to the December 2017 peak, and we do not see signs of improvement in the coming months," according to the Confindustria's report.
"All the main economic indicators are at low levels and falling, confirming a trend of marked slowdown."
