Personal connections such as friends and family account for almost half of jobs across Italy, reports The Local.it citing data from national statistics agency Istat. The agency added that a total of 47% of jobs in Italy are gained through these "informal channels", with that figure rising to 50.6% in the south, where unemployment levels are highest in the country. Most of the remaining jobs (53%) were found through other means including job ads and employment agencies. Meanwhile, during the job search process, 87% of Italians turned to their personal network to help them land a job. Istat stated that finding work "through help from friends or family on average leads to a job with lower pay, less stability and less correspondence to the individual's qualifications".