Italy Jobless Rate Falls To 5.9%, Lowest Since April 2007

(RTTNews) - Italy's unemployment rate declined unexpectedly in February to the lowest level in nearly eighteen years, data published by the statistical office Istat showed on Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate dropped to 5.9 percent in February from 6.2 percent in January. The expected rate was 6.3 percent.

In the corresponding month last year, the unemployment rate was 7.3 percent.

Moreover, this was the lowest unemployment rate since April 2007, when it was 5.8 percent.

The number of unemployed people declined by 79,000 to 1.517 million in February compared to the previous month.

Data also showed that the employment rate stood at 63.0 percent in February, up from 62.9 percent in January.