Unemployment at record low in Germany, record high in Italy

Germany's unemployment rate dropped to a record low of 6.5 per cent in December while Italy's pushed up to a new high of 13.4 per cent, underscoring the vast differences within the struggling Euro zone economy.

The German jobless rate fell from 6.6 per cent in November to its lowest since German reunification in 1990. The rate had been forecast to hold steady. In Italy, on the other hand, the unemployment rate in November hit its highest since the statistics office began reporting the series in 1977, reflecting the impact of the third recession to hit the country since 2008.