Rome (ANTARA News/AKI) - Italian unemployment declined slightly in June as pessimism among companies in the euro zone`s third richest country were too pessimistic about the economy to go on a hire spree.

Hardest hit were the country`s young workers between 15 and 24 years old, with almost 28 percent without work.

Joblessness was 8 percent in June, compared with 8.1 percent in May and 8.3 percent in June 2010, national statistics agency Istat said on Monday.

Italy`s sluggish economy in June prompted Confindustria, the country`s largest business association, to reduce its growth forecast to to 0.9 percent from 1.1 percent previously.

The economy - the third biggest among the 17 countries that use the euro currency - grew 0.1 percent in the first quarter, compared with a euro-region average of 0.8 percent.

Slow growth was one reason that business confidence in June slipped. Another was the country`s heavy debt load.

Italy`s 1.89 trillion euros of sovereign debt has also prompted credit agencies Standard & Poor`s and Moody`s to issue warnings about the possibility of a downgrade. (A045)

Editor: Ella Syafputri
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