MILAN: Italy's youth unemployment shot up to a record high of 30.1 percent in November and the jobless rate in the active population rose to 8.6 percent from 8.5 in October as the country slid towards recession.
According to seasonally adjusted figures released by ISTAT, the unemployment rate for young people aged from 15 to 24 years broke through the 30 percent barrier for the first time, up from 29.2 percent in October.
The number of people looking for work across Italy rose to 2.142 million in November, up 0.7 percent compared to a month earlier (15,000 more people) and 5.6 percent rise over the year (114.000 more people).
The jobless rate of 8.6 percent in November is the highest since May 2010.
Unemployment in Italy has been increasing since the summer, when the country -- which is battling a fierce debt crisis -- began sliding into recession with a 0.2 percent drop in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the third quarter.
Prime Minister Mario Monti's government adopted a draconian austerity package to help tackle the crisis before Christmas and next week will negotiate reforms to the labour market -- a sensitive issue which has riled trade unions.
Since taking over from ousted premier Silvio Berlusconi in November, Monti has aimed to bring in reforms fast and redress imbalances such as excessive privileges and job protection in some sectors and vulnerability in others.
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