A round-up of the top business and economy news on 1st August 2023.
Unemployment rate dropped in June
Italy’s unemployment rate dropped by 0.2% to 7.4% in June, Istat said on Tuesday.
The national statistics agency added that the jobless rate for under-25s who are active on the labour market fell by 0.4% to 21.3%. Istat said the number of people aged 15 to 64 who are not active on the labour market decreased by 43,000 (0.3%).
Istat said that the number of people in employment in Italy increased by 385,000, 1.7%, in June with respect to the same month in 2022.
Economy growth still on target
The target of 1% growth for 2023 set out in the government’s DEF economic blueprint can still be achieved after ISTAT reported that Italy’s GDP dropped by 0.3% in the second quarter, the economy and finance ministry (MEF) said on Monday.
The ministry said the data “does not influence the annual forecast formulated in the DEF.
“This growth target remains fully within reach and it will continue to be pursued with the (government’s) prudent, responsible economic policies that are appreciated and recognised as valid at the international level,” it added.
“The government will continue to work to guarantee the implementation of public investments and the NRRP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) to support growth and favour a further reduction in inflation”.
Antitrust investigating taxis
Italy’s Antitrust authority said today it had opened a probe into the nation’s taxi sector. This after finding major problems with the services in Rome, Milan and Naples.
The authority said the probe would look into a range of issues, including waiting times, how taximeters are used and whether electronic payments for fares are accepted. It said it had asked for information from the big taxi companies in the three cities in relation to the probe.
Premier Giorgia Meloni’s office said the government would address the problem of the nation’s taxis in the coming days. They are looking at a solution based on efficiency and transparency for citizens, fairness for taxi drivers and respect of the market rules.
Petrol stations to show average prices
An obligation for gas stations in Italy to display the average prices of petrol and diesel alongside their over own prices kicks in today.
The government approved the move after a sharp rise in fuel prices after duty reductions to help with the cost-of-living crisis were scrapped at the start of the year.
The aim is to boost transparency and prevent speculative price hikes.
The business and made in Italy ministry (MIMIT) has published the national average for motorways and the averages for each region that the gas stations will have to show on its website.
The average prices for a litre of unleaded petrol at a self-service pump on a motorway is €1.984 and €1.854 for diesel, the site said.
Unleaded petrol is most expensive in the autonomous province of Bolzano (€1.945) and Puglia (€1.943).
Italy’s price-monitoring ombudsman Benedetto Mineo said Monday that a recent spike in fuel prices were not determined by speculative hikes.
“In relation to the fuel prices of the last two weeks, there has been an acceleration in the same direction on the international market,” Mineo said. “From this point of view, we have not registered speculation”.
