The persistence of a crisis which, albeit with ups and downs, is heading towards the fifth year, continues to have a significant impact on the labor market. In the world the unemployed at the end of 2011 were 197 million. Of these, 27 million are a direct consequence of the crisis and are concentrated above all in developed countries and in Europe. Overall, the world unemployment rate has reached 6%.
The most penalized are, in all areas of the planet, young people. In 2011, around 74,7 million people between the ages of 15 and 24 were unemployed, and the unemployment rate for this age group reached 12,7%, one percentage point higher than the pre-crisis level. Spain, Ireland and Greece are among the hardest-hit countries in the world, along with those in North Africa and the Middle East.
In Italy the labor market has undergone a slow but constant deterioration in recent quarters. In December, the overall unemployment rate reached 8,9%. Much higher is that of young people (over 30%), which exceeds the level of the pre-crisis period by almost 10 percentage points. The national average value of the unemployment rate is not very indicative of the real situation of the country - very different between the various areas - and is therefore not very indicative in international comparisons.
An analysis carried out at the level of NUTS 2 territorial divisions in the EU-27 show how almost all Italian regions have a youth unemployment rate higher than those with a similar per capita GDP. The exceptions are Veneto and Valle d'Aosta (which record youth unemployment a couple of points lower than the French region of Rhône-Alpes), Friuli, Liguria and the Marches (five points lower than North Yorkshire).
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Attachments: Focus no. 06 – 10 February 2012.pdf
