Italy: the labour market remains very traditional

The Italian labour market, described in the annual report of the statistical institute Istat, made public on May 24, remains far from the Lisbon objectives. "The Italian employment model is still characterized by activity ratios definitely lower than the European averages (49% last year), and typically involves male workers under permanent contracts, with high levels of exclusion for young people, women and seniors" notices Istat in the report summary. (Ref. 06548)
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True, the rate of unemployment in Italy, 7,7% last year, is slightly lower than the European average, but Istat notes that since the end of 2003, “decreasing unemployment is accompanied by a rise of the inactive population, especially in the South”. In other words : young people and especially women of the Mezzogiorno give up job hunting. The female activity ratio is indeed one of the lowest in Europe (37,9% in 2005) almost stable compared to 2001 (37,7%). “The share of women among the active p

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