ROME, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The unemployment level in Italy increased in May, latest data from the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) showed on Monday.
The overall jobless rate reached 11.3 percent, with a 0.2 percent rise over the previous month, ISTAT said. Such growth was almost entirely registered among male workers, while the female unemployment rate remained stable, it added.
In terms of numbers, the agency stated more than 2.9 million people were jobless in May, with a 1.5 percent increase over April. The rise was highest among young people with 37 percent unemployed among the age group of 15 to 24, up 1.8 percent over April.
The employment rate was 57.7 percent in May, down 0.1 percentage points on a monthly basis, while the inactivity rate remained unchanged at 34.8 percent.
Quarterly and yearly data showed a more positive trend, however.
"Despite the decline registered in the last month (May), employment in the period March-May rose compared to the previous three months," ISTAT said on Monday.
The quarterly rise was due to a growth in the number of both open-ended contracts and fixed-term contracts. It involved both male and female workers, and was distributed among all age groups between 35 and 49 years.
The number of employed people in May also increased by 0.6 percent, or by 141,000 units, over the same month in 2016, ISTAT added.
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