There's a human story behind each of the statistics, and joblessness challenges the entire fabric of society.
Suicide, the biggest killer of men under 50 in the UK, has its second highest rate in the region – a fact that, for many commentators, bears some relation to statistics on joblessness and employment precarity.
As powerful political and economic interests tied to China's investments seek to stamp out independent reporting, a free African press is needed more than ever, as a key institution of development, a consumer watchdog and a way for the public to contextualize official statistics about joblessness, inflation and other social and economic concerns.
The city that was once thriving with middle-wage earning blue-collar workers is now home to frightening statistics on homeless, joblessness, and poverty.
According to the national statistics body Istat, the joblessness rate in Sardinia was more than 18% in the last quarter of last year, the sixth highest in Italy.
China's notoriously contentious unemployment figures, which do not cover migrant workers (no statistics are published for rural joblessness), look rosy beside those of some Western countries.
The downturn has been particularly acute in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia, where a collapsed construction sector has pushed joblessness to 28 percent, according to the regional statistics office.
But the history of this sacrosanct number is as much about politics as about statistics, and at a time when joblessness is rising, the history has a new relevance.
While the overall unemployment rate rose to 27percentt, according to statistics service data released on Thursday, joblessness among those aged between 15 and 24 jumped to 64.2percentt in February from 59.3percentt in January.
A big surge in joblessness does not necessarily show up in the poverty statistics, because many of those downsized are men with working wives.
"Of course, as more people fall into poverty, joblessness, et cetera, it is very likely the crime statistics will again go up," Mr. Auletta said.
