Pope Francis on Wednesday called for concrete policies to improve the "extremely difficult" state of Italy's economy after its worst post-war recession drove unemployment to record levels.
"The situation is extremely difficult throughout the country. It is crucial that we see incisive action that will offer people hope," Francis told pilgrims at his general audience in St Peter's Square.
The pontiff made special mention of workers at US multinational Whirlpool's factory near Caserta in the southern Campania region, which the company plans to close with the loss of over 800 jobs.
"I hope to see a rapid and fair solution to this very serious situation that respects everybody's rights, especially those of families," Francis said.
Between 2008 and 2014, the number of jobless doubled in Italy from just under 1.7 million to 3.2 million, the highest level since records began in 1977, the Bank of Italy said on Tuesday.
The unemployment rate was 12.7 percent across the workforce and 42.7 percent among under-25s, according the central bank.
Italy officially exited recession in the first quarter of the year after the economy grew 0.3 percent from January to March from the previous three months, the first expansion in six quarters, the central statistics office Istat reported last Friday.
But unemployment unexpectedly rose to 13 percent In March from 12.7 percent in February, according to the latest Istat data.
Current government forecasts predict weak economic growth of 0.7 percent this year and 1.4 percent in 2016.
