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# ⚕️ New Zealand vaping nears 15%. Italy’s employment rate rises. Sarvam AI topped the OlmOCR AI benchmark.
- URL: https://newsletters.qs.com/new-zealand-vaping-nears-15-italys-employment-rate-rises-sarvam-ai-topped-the-olmocr-ai-benchmark/
- Published: 2026-04-13T12:50:31.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-13T12:50:31.000Z
- Description: Chart of the Day #582 looks at the employment rate in Italy, vape users in New Zealand and OlmOCR character recognition AI benchmarks.
- Author: QS
- Tags: Charts

**Hello 👋** 

### Today's Topics

**💼 Workforce.** Employment rate in Italy continues to increase  
⚕️ **Health Skills**. Regular vaping reached nearly 15% in New Zealand  
🤖 **Artificial Intelligence.** Sarvam AI topped the OlmOCR AI benchmark

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## 💼 Employment rate in Italy continues to increase

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f1/d4/f1d411df-6f49-4c75-a302-f8c9e9f59495/content/images/2026/04/data-src-image-1be33fe5-9289-4270-8125-09869155b1ea.png)](https://index.holoniq.com/charts/HCHB0A3DAUXXL0JUV2UP?ref=newsletters.qs.com)

Italy’s employment rate rose from 59.1% in 2019 to 61.5% in 2023, indicating a gradual labour market recovery. Employers are increasingly focusing on [workplace wellbeing and mental health](https://ifeelonline.com/occupational-health/mental-well-being-trends-in-italy-vs-europe-key-insights-for-employers/?ref=newsletters.qs.com) to retain talent and improve productivity. This shift aligns with broader workforce trends emphasizing [work- life balance ](https://thehappinessindex.com/blog/importance-work-life-balance/?ref=newsletters.qs.com)and employee support. The European Pillar of Social Rights, implemented by the European Commission, promotes fair working conditions and well-being.

## ⚕️ Regular vaping reached nearly 15% in New Zealand

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f1/d4/f1d411df-6f49-4c75-a302-f8c9e9f59495/content/images/2026/04/data-src-image-034fbd0b-13a9-4306-95d4-8817b055b328.png)](https://index.holoniq.com/charts/HCHA0M6LE4X2SOMTVR6I?ref=newsletters.qs.com)

Regular vaping in New Zealand reached 14% in 2024, indicating rapid growth. This rise reflects shifting consumer behaviour, particularly among younger populations adopting alternatives to traditional smoking. Increased availability, targeted marketing, and a perception of reduced harm contribute to higher uptake. Many youth engage in "dual use," smoking both traditional cigarettes and vaping. The [Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan ](https://www.health.govt.nz/publications/smokefree-aotearoa-2025-action-plan?ref=newsletters.qs.com)implemented by the New Zealand Government aims to reduce smoking and regulate vaping products.

## 🤖 Sarvam AI topped the OlmOCR AI benchmark

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f1/d4/f1d411df-6f49-4c75-a302-f8c9e9f59495/content/images/2026/04/data-src-image-2e0f75e6-898d-4409-9bf7-ea9f238e1110.png)](https://index.holoniq.com/charts/HCHMDACSHEMJLOQEQO8N?ref=newsletters.qs.com)

India's homegrown Sarvam AI topped the OlmOCR AI benchmark in 2026, [surpassing traditional giants](https://aifundingtracker.com/sarvam-ai-beats-chatgpt-gemini-vision-ocr/?ref=newsletters.qs.com) such as ChatGPT and Gemini. This benchmark evaluates the image and document reading capabilities of AI models. Sarvam AI has been locally developed in India as a quickly scaled startup, specialising in local language accessibility in LLMs. With speech-to-text capabilities, native language readability among many of its unique offerings, it has also secured major funding and [government support](https://www.medianama.com/2025/04/223-india-sovereign-llm-sarvam-ai-government-funding-not-open-source-but-proprietary/?ref=newsletters.qs.com). This portrays the rise in native capability-driven AI models, with widespread AI models being overtaken in these capabilities.

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