ROME: Italy's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell for a second consecutive month to 12.6 percent in January, a notch below the revised 12.7 percent rate for December, data showed on Monday.
January's figure was lower than the median forecast of 12.9 percent in a Reuters survey. Official statistics office ISTAT had previously reported the December jobless rate at 12.9 percent.
Unemployment had been rising steadily since early 2011 and peaked at a revised 13.2 in November as the country languished in its longest post-World War Two slump.
The data are good news for Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who has seen joblessness at its highest levels since the 1970s since taking office about a year ago.
He has eased labour rules in a bid stimulate hiring, but those new rules were not yet fully in place when these data were collected.
The employment rate was 55.8 percent compared with 55.7 in December.
Youth unemployment, measuring job-seekers between 15- and 24-years-old, was 41.2 percent in January, down from a revised 41.4 percent in December. Youth unemployment has also been hovering near its highest level in 37 years.
In January, there were 11,000 more people working compared with the previous month, and 131,000 more than the same month last year, ISTAT said.
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