In Italy, as in many other countries, the difficulties of young people in entering the world of work have been accentuated by the effects of the economic crisis. Between the third quarter of 2008 and the third quarter of 2013 in Italy the number of employed people in the 15-34 age group decreased by almost 2 million, while for the 35-55 age group the contraction was 40 thousand units and for that over the age of 55 there has even been an increase of over 800 workers.
The difficulty of integrating young people into employment paths is effectively illustrated by the unemployment rate for the 15-24 age group. Compared with a value equal to 24% for the eurozone average, in Italy it rises to 42,4%, more than double the United Kingdom (20%) and almost 20 percentage points more than France. Among the large countries of the Eurozone, only Spain has a higher value (54,6%).
Although the Italian situation has improved over the last few years, graduates in the 25-34 age group account for only 21% of the population, a figure that places Italy in the penultimate position among the 34 OECD countries, at the equal with Austria and ahead only of Turkey (17%). Very low values considering that the OECD average is 38% and that of the EU is 35%.
The importance of a degree as a qualifying element for better paid professional careers has decreased considerably over the years. Graduates in the 25-34 age group earn in Italy only 22% more than those in the same age group who have obtained a high school diploma, compared with an OECD average of over 40%.
The prevailing contractual channel for hiring young people has become that of apprenticeship. In fact, the share of people hired with apprenticeship contracts went from 18,1% in 2008 to 21,6% in 2012, compared with a share of people hired on open-ended contracts which in the same period of time decreased from 40% to 32,6 .XNUMX%.
In Italy, the different dynamics linked to the labor market at a local level are also affected by a non-homogeneous distribution of young people in the area. In the North-West the incidence of the under 35s on the total resident population amounts to 33,8% compared to 34,2% in the North-East and Center and 39,4% in the South, with peaks of 39,8% % in Sicily and 42% in Campania.
