MILAN: Italy's unemployment rate hit a record of 12.5 percent in September, up 0.1 percent from the August level, initial data from the national statistics agency showed on Thursday.

On a 12-month comparison, the unemployment rate rose by 1.6 percentage points, Istat said in a statement.

The number of people looking for work rose to 3.194 million -- a 0.9 percent increase from August and 14 percent higher than in September 2012.

Among the active working population of 15-24-year-olds, the unemployment rate also hit a new record of 40.4 percent, up 0.2 percent on August and 4.4 points higher than a year ago, Istat said.

Over one young person in 10 (10.9 percent) in that age range is looking for work, it said.

Italy has been mired in a recession for two years and unemployment has been rising for months. The government has said it is expecting a gradual recovery to start towards the end of this year.