ROME, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The number of Italians with jobs dropped again in April, pushed in part by people who stopped looking for work, Italy's National Statistics Institute (ISTAT)said Wednesday.

Employment levels in Italy fell in February and again in March due to the economic impact of the global coronavirus pandemic, which started to slow the global economy in February. In March, Italy declared national lockdown due to the coronavirus.

What is unusual about April is that unemployment levels actually dropped, falling to 6.3 percent, its lowest level since 2007. That was down from 8.4 percent unemployment in March.

But the ISTAT said the figure dropped mostly because fewer people were looking for work. On a monthly basis, the number of people actually employed in April dropped by 1.2 percent, representing a loss of 274,000 jobs.

The losses were across the board, including female workers (down 1.5 percent), male workers (down 1.0 percent), independent workers (down 1.3 percent), and across all age groups.

All told, the number of people ISTAT records as "inactive" -- those who are unemployed and not looking for work -- grew by 5.4 percent, an increase of 746,000 workers compared with March.

Economists are split on what the figures will show for May. Italy carried out methodical easing of lockdown rules starting on May 4 and again on May 18, meaning more shops, restaurants, bars, and other businesses could reopen. That is likely to have created jobs that had been dormant in April, but it may have also increased the number of job-seekers, which would push unemployment figures higher. Enditem

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