ROME - Unemployment in Italy rose to 12.5 percent in September, leaving jobless Italians to face the toughest job market since the first quarter of 1977, national statistics office Istat reported Thursday.

 

The unemployment rate jumped only 0.1 percent from August to September, but that small percentage represents 29,000 people who have been added to the group of nearly 3.2 million unemployed in Italy. The September figure also represents a 1.6 percent increase over the year.

 

The youth unemployment rate has also reached historic levels in September, according to the report. The rate soared to 40.4 percent in September, up 0.2 percent from August.