ROME, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Italian households have more purchasing power and are consuming more, national statistics agency ISTAT reported Friday.

Household consumption rose by 0.5 percent and disposable income added 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017, ISTAT said in its March report on the Italian economy.

The statistics agency also saw rising employment levels among women, the creation of 54,000 new permanent full-time jobs, and high household confidence coupled with a slow-down in the expectations of manufacturing firms.

In February, unemployment fell to 10.9 percent, a 0.6 percentage point drop compared to the same period last year. However, Italy still lags behind the eurozone, where unemployment fell by 1 percent to 8.5 percent in the same period, ISTAT pointed out.

"The leading indicator remains stable at high levels, (while) showing slight signs of deceleration," the report said.

ISTAT analysts said Italy's positive trend is occurring within a wider framework of global growth.