Italy Oct jobless rate falls to 9.7pc as 46,000 jobs created

• The euro zone's third largest economy has been broadly stagnant for the last seven quarters.
• The unemployment rate has followed a very gradual downward trend since the start of 2017.
• Italy's overall employment rate, one of the lowest in the euro zone, was stable for a third month running in October at 59.2pc.

A Reuters survey of seven analysts had forecast an October jobless rate of 9.8pc.

In the August-to-October period employment levels were "substantially stable" compared with the previous three months, national statistics bureau ISTAT said.

The euro zone's third largest economy has been broadly stagnant for the last seven quarters.

The unemployment rate has followed a very gradual downward trend since the start of 2017, when it stood at 11.7pc.

In October, the youth unemployment rate, measuring job-seekers between 15 and 24 years old, fell to 27.8pc from 28.6pc in September. In January 2017 it stood at 37.3pc.

Italy's overall employment rate, one of the lowest in the euro zone, was stable for a third month running in October at 59.2pc, remaining around its highest level since ISTAT's current series began in 1977.