Unemployment in Italy fell to its lowest point since 1992 in the third quarter of this year, according to figures released on Wednesday by national statistics bureau Istat.
At the end of September 2006 the unemployment rate was 6.1%, a full percentage point lower than 12 months earlier, Istat reported. With seasonal factors taken into account, the new figure is 6.8%.
Third quarter employment figures showed that the number of people with jobs was up by 459,000, or 2%, compared to the same period a year earlier.
Istat said that the increase in employment levels had benefited women and immigrants in particular.
As usual northern regions, where unemployment was 3.8%, created more jobs than southern ones, where it was 12.3%.
In the south the 1.8% growth registered in the employed population was partly due to a sharp fall in the number of people officially looking for work.
Unions welcomed the latest Istat job figures, but highlighted continuing problems in the south, where they said part of the working population could have migrated to the underground economy.
