ROME, May 29 Reuters Italy39;s unemployment rate declined to 6.9 in April from a downwardly revised 7.1 the month before, data showed on Thursday, as some 84,000 jobs were created in the month.

The April rate was the lowest since December 2008, national statistics bureau ISTAT reported.

A Reuters survey of 11 analysts had forecast a level of 7.2, which was the previously reported figure for March.

In the FebruarytoApril period, employment was up by 136,000, or 0.6, compared with the previous three months, ISTAT said.

In April, the number of people in work was up by 516,000, or 2.2 compared with April 2023.

The youth unemployment rate, measuring jobseekers between 15 and 24 years old, was stable in April at 20.2.

Italy39;s overall employment rate, one of the lowest in the euro zone, climbed to 62.3 in April from March39;s 62.1, reaching its highest level since ISTAT39;s current series began in 2004.

Italian gross domestic product increased by 0.3 in the first quarter from the previous three months, preliminary ISTAT data showed last month, following marginal 0.1 growth in Q4 2023.

Most analysts expect similar modest growth rates through the rest of this year, yielding fullyear 2024 growth of between 0.7 and 1.

reporting by Gavin Jones and Valentina Consiglio, graphic by Stefano Bernabei

Source Reuters