Unemployment rises more in Italy in May than in other major eurozone economies

Brussels – Unemployment in the euro area rose in May. Compared to April, the jobless index rose by 0.1 per cent to 6.3 per cent. In releasing the data, Eurostat explained that the figure translates to 10.8 million men and women out of work, 54,000 more. The Eurozone figures confirm a general and generalised trend that also concerns the EU as a whole: the EU-27 saw an increase of 48 thousand people out of work in June.

Of the major eurozone economies, France recorded a reduction in unemployment in absolute terms in May (-23,000), Spain experienced a less marked but still positive slowdown in the national labour market (-5,000 compared to April), Germany recorded a slight increase (+2,000), while Italy saw an increase of 112,000 in the national jobless population. 

A figure, the latter, which does not seem to reward the Meloni government, but which confirms a cyclical trend of continuous fluctuations. Compared to May 2024, and therefore to a year ago, Italy has 15,000 more unemployed, indicating a labour market that is incapable of attracting and permanently absorbing workers.