(Bloomberg) -- Italy's unemployment rate rose to the highest level since June 2015, as the country struggles to regain a solid economic footing.
The jobless rate was 11.9 percent in November, up from a revised 11.8 percent the month before, statistics agency Istat said Monday in Rome. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 13 analysts called for 11.6 percent. Youth unemployment rose to 39.4 percent, the highest since October 2015.
The November unemployment rate for the 19-nation euro area was 9.8 percent, the European Union's statistics office in Luxembourg said later Monday.
Istat said Dec. 30 that businesses foresee an employment boost for Italy's manufacturing industry, with a decrease in trade, construction and services. UniCredit SpA, the nation's largest bank, said last month it plans a 21 percent reduction of its workforce in Italy by 2019.
The new government of Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni is seeking to create more jobs to put the economy on a steady upward path. Growth picked up to 0.3 percent in the three months ended in September from near-stagnation in the previous quarter.
There were 19,000 more people employed in Italy in November compared with the month before.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kevin Costelloe in Rome at kcostelloe@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Maria Ermakova, Chiara Vasarri
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