The unemployment rate in Italy declined to 7.8% in October from September’s reading of 7.9% due to the creation of 82,000 jobs in the month, according to the latest official data.

In the three months to October, employment in Italy was “broadly stable”, compared to May to July, said the national statistics bureau ISTAT.

A survey carried out by Reuters news agency forecast an increase in the jobless rate to 8.0%.

October’s 7.8% figure followed three months of stability at 7.9% and represented the lowest reading since April 2020. ISTAT added that compared to October last year, employment in Italy rose by 496,000 or 2.2%. In addition, the youth unemployment rate – for those between 15 and 24 years of age – fell to 23.9% from 24.1% in the previous month.

Moreover, the country’s overall employment rate – one of the eurozone’s lowest – rose to 60.5% in October from 60.3% in September, Reuters reports, the highest in 45 years. However, despite the promising jobs report, Italy’s economic outlook is more subdued due to the impact of the war in Ukraine.

The country’s economy grew by a stronger-than-forecast 0.5% in the third quarter compared to the prior three months, according to data published on Wednesday. However, there has since been a sharp slowdown as households and businesses cope with soaring energy costs.

Also, in Q3, Italy’s final consumption expenditure increased by 1.8%, gross fixed capital formation by 0.8%, imports by 4.2% and exports by 0.1%, compared to Q2, ISTAT went on to add.

Whereas in comparison to Q3 last year, final consumption expenditure increased by 2.7%, gross fixed capital formation by 9.2%, imports by 15.9%, and exports by 8.3%.

The Italian Treasury forecasts that the country’s GDP will fall in Q4 and also the first quarter of 2023.