Rome, Jan 9 (IANS/AKI): Unemployment in Italy rose to 11.9 percent in November 2016, the highest level since June 2015, the Italian Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) reported on Monday.

The jobless rate rose by 0.2 percent on a monthly basis, and by 0.5 percent over November 2015.

Unemployment among youths aged 15 to 24 years increased to 39.4 percent, from 36.4 percent in October 2016. It was the highest level registered since October 2015.

ISTAT also released an increased participation in the labour market in November. Some 22.7 million people were employed, and 3.08 millions unemployed, which marked a 0.1 per cent and a 0.2 per cent increase on a monthly basis, respectively, the agency said.

The overall job rate was 57.3 per cent, with some 19,000 more people employed compared to the previous month ( 0.1 per cent), and 201,000 compared to November 2015 ( 0.6 per cent). The increases mainly concerned women and people over-50, ISTAT added in its note.

Finally, both self-employed and permanent contracts were on the rise in November in Italy, while fix-term contracts decreased.

The inactivity rate decreased to 34.8 percent, with a 0.2 per cent drop over the previous month, and 1.1 per cent drop compared to November 2015.