Italy's unemployment rate hit a record 9.2% in January compared to 8.9% in December, official data showed today, as the country grinds through a painful recession. The rate is the highest since Italy began recording monthly employment data in January 2004, the Italian statistics agency Istat said in a statement. The seasonally adjusted data showed the number of people looking for a job rose to 2.312 million people in January - an increase of 2.8% over a month and 14.1% over a 12-month period. The unemployment rate among young people aged between 15 and 24 also increased to 31.1% in January from 31% in December - just ... (full story)