Italy's jobless rate unexpectedly eased in June after stabilizing in May and April, data released by statistical office Istat showed Friday.
The seasonally adjusted rate of unemployment edged down to 8.5% in June from May's revised rate of 8.6%. The decrease was surprising as economists had forecast an increase to 8.8%.
Unemployment rate for women was higher than that of men. But it eased to 9.6% in June from 9.8% in May. The rate for males came down to 7.9% from 8.5%.
Total number of unemployed was 2.12 million in June, while the number of employed totaled 22.9 million. 14.87 million people were inactive in June.
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