Italy's unemployment rate stayed unchanged from the prior month in March, defying economists' forecast for a modest increase, latest data showed Tuesday.
The unemployment rate held steady at 11.5 percent in March, statistical office Istat said. Economists had forecast the jobless rate to rise to 11.7 percent. In March 2012, the jobless rate was 10.4 percent.
The number of unemployed persons in the country decreased 0.5 percent sequentially to around 2.95 million during the month.
The unemployment rate among youth, aged between 15 and 24, was 38.4 percent in March, higher than 37.8 percent recorded in the previous month.
The number of persons in employment, meanwhile, decreased by 0.2 percent sequentially to around 22.67 million in March. The employment rate edged down to 56.3 percent from 56.4 percent in February.
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