Complex situations can (almost) never be explained with a single datum. And the social phenomena linked to the labor market are decidedly complex situations.
In a very common error among journalists and commentators, the success of the Eurozone in the last year is often summarized with the drop in the unemployment rate which, after reaching an all-time high of 12,1% in March 2013, is slowly returning to pre-crisis levels.
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE VS INACTIVITY RATE
The unemployment rate compares the number of unemployed with the labor force, i.e. with that part of the population (employed or unemployed) which actively participates in the labor market. In a functioning economy, once you have passed the learning phase which coincides with your training (high school, university or apprenticeship), you should actively enter the labor market and with a little luck you should be able to find a job online with their own skills.
The truth, however, is that the unemployment rate alone is not able to provide us with an exhaustive picture of the state of health of the labor market. To get an overview, it is also necessary to consider the rate of inactive population. To do this, Eurostat comes to our aid, which published data on the inactive population, where Italy stands out among the European countries with the highest percentage of inactive population compared to the population of working age (aged between 15-64).
Secondo the definition of the International Labor Organization ILO, the inactive are all those who for some reason are not part of the active workforce, either because they are not looking for work or because they are not in a position to work. So:
– Who is studying or attending a training course;
– Who is retired;
– Those who cannot work because they are incapacitated or seriously ill;
– Those who think there are no jobs for him (the so-called "discouraged");
– Who has to look after their children or an adult who is “unable to work”.
THE ARMY OF THE INACTIVE
If we focus on the absolute number of inactive people, there are around 89 million people in Europe with this condition. Of these 89 million, approximately 35% are studying or on a training course, 15,6% are retired, another 15,6% are disabled or seriously ill; the remaining 33% is distributed among those who look after family affections (elderly, children), the discouraged or other causes.
More than 85% of these inactive people are concentrated in 6 European countries, where Italy is in second place with more than 13 million people. In particular, Italy excels in two particular categories: that relating to those who say there is no work and therefore do not look for it (the so-called "discouraged") and in the "other" category.
In all honesty, I have not been able to find a convincing description of the other category, but based on the definitions I found on Eurostat and Istat, this category should include those looking for work but are not immediately available or those who are waiting to receive a response from the potential employer.
“SOMEONE SAVE THE INACTIVE”
The point is that in Italy (and in Europe) there is a frightening potential for a workforce that the unemployment rate does not consider, and which we cannot do without, since demographics do not work in our favour. Until now, Italy has benefited from a favorable global economic situation, from a low euro, from a central bank that has contained the cost of debt, but sooner or later the wind will turn and not to be a villain but we have plenty to grow badly needed.
Source: Adviseonly
