Consumer price inflation is expected to creep up slowly from 0.2 percent this year to 1.1 percent in 2016. The bulletin said "the Italian economy has started to grow again. Improved business and family confidence indicators have been matched by internal demand, contributing to growth." Investments, which have fallen steadily since 2008, have picked up, with encouraging early signals from the construction sector too. Large enterprise business plans are providing for a marked expansion over the year, while medium-sized and smaller enterprises, in particular, are being more cautious. Recent economic performance indicators have shown that growth continued at the same rate during the second quarter as in the first. Recovery in the production sector should lead to a steady rise in employment, equal to 1.5 percentage points over two years. The rate of unemployment "should fall from 12.6 percent in 2014 to 11.9 percent in 2016. During April and May, employment rose and unemployment stabilised. Since the beginning of the year the number of permanent appointments has risen significantly, incentivised by recent government measures. The number of claims on the Extraordinary Redundancy Fund fell during the Spring. The percentage of businesses anticipating a rise in jobs is growing, although expectations of stability are prevalent." (AGI)