More than 6 million out of work in Italy

(ANSA) - Rome, May 28 - As many as 6.3 million Italians are out of work, with more than 1.4 million too discouraged to continue the formal job hunt and more than 1.2 million over 50 seeking employment, national statistical agency Istat said Wednesday.
    The number of unemployed are evenly divided between those who are in the system and receiving jobless benefits and those we are not, the agency said in its annual report.
    Overall, the level of joblessness in Italy has doubled since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008, the agency said.
    It noted that last year, 2.435 million youth aged 15 to 29 were in the category known as NEET - neither employed nor in education or training programs.
    That number had jumped by 576,000 since 2008, said Istat.
    And for workers under age 35, the number of unemployed has risen to 1.8 million.
    About 984,000 jobs were lost in Italy between 2008 and 2013 and the employment rate in Italy dropped to 55.6% in 2013 from 58.7 per cent in 2008. In regions of southern Italy, where employment is often difficult to find, the number of workers dropped by 9% and the employment rate was about 42% in 2013.
    The agency also noted a substantial rise in part-time work, both temporary and permanent posts, of almost 20% or 667,000 positions.