Rome, Aug 2 (IANS): Employment in Italy in June hit 18.1 million, the highest level since 1977, according to provisional data released by the country's National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT).

In Italy, the employment rate in June rose by 0.2 percentage points to 60.1 per cent against the previous month, marking "a record value since 1977", with 86,000 more people employed, Xinhua news agency quoted ISTAT as saying.

This group included "both genders and all age groups", except people aged 35-49, the Institute said.

At the same time, the number of unemployed and inactive people in Italy in June decreased by 0.2 per cent, with this group especially concerning women and people aged over 25.

In Italy, "the unemployment rate remained stable at 8.1 per cent, while the youth (jobless) rate rose by 1.7 percentage points to 23.1 per cent", ISTAT said.

Meanwhile, the number of inactive people dropped by some 91,000 against May, with this decline affecting "both genders and people aged less than 50 years".

Overall, the inactivity rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 34.5 per cent.

A positive trend was also seen in the second quarter of this year, with "a drop in both unemployed and inactive people aged 15-64".

On an annual basis, ISTAT reported that the number of employed people increased by 1.8 per cent (400,000 people), and the employment rate grew by 1.6 percentage points compared to June 2021.