New update from the Bulletin of Excelsior information system, edited by Unioncamere and the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies. In August, the Italian companies they plan to stipulate approximately 315 thousand employment contracts with a duration exceeding one month or for an indefinite period. Compared to the same month in 2023, there is a increase of 22 thousand contracts (+7,5%). For the August-October quarter, 1,3 million hirings are expected, with an increase of 2,3% (+30 thousand contracts) compared to 2023. However, 48,9% of companies report difficulties in finding the required profiles, mainly due to lack of candidates.
Workers required by sector
In August, theindustry is looking for around 88 thousand workers, with a forecast of 392 thousand hires for the August-October quarter. In the manufacturing sector, the main job opportunities come from the food industries, drinks and tobacco (16 thousand hirings in August and 47 thousand in the quarter), followed by the manufacturing industries mechatronics (14 thousand in August and 61 thousand in the quarter) and from those metallurgical and metal products (9 thousand in August and 43 thousand in the quarter). In the sector of construction, over 31 thousand hires are expected in August and around 150 thousand in the quarter.
In the services sector, 227 thousand contracts are expected in August and over 919 thousand in the quarter. Tourism offers the greatest opportunities, with 68 thousand hirings in August and 227 thousand in the quarter, followed by trade (46 thousand in August and 183 thousand in the quarter), personal services (40 thousand in August and 201 thousand in the quarter) and support services for businesses and people (26 thousand in August and 103 thousand in the quarter).
Fixed term first contractual formula
The fixed-term contract is the most common contractual form, with 187 thousand units, which represent 59,4% of the total. This is followed by permanent contracts with 52 thousand units (16,5%) and temporary contracts with 34 thousand units (10,8%).
The difficulties of finding
In August, businesses report difficulties in finding them approximately 154 thousand workers, equal to 48,9% of the expected hirings. The main cause is "lack of candidates" (32,4%), followed by "inadequate preparation" (12,3%). The most difficult professions to find include engineers (60,4%) and primary and pre-primary school teachers (57,5%) among the intellectual professions; technicians in the engineering field (70,8%) and health technicians (60,6%) among the technical professions; beauty care operators (80,1%) and catering workers (55,5%) among commercial and service professions; and workers specialized in construction finishing (79,1%) and metal carpentry work (75,8%).
Immigrant workers are needed
Businesses they are looking for immigrant workers for approximately 69 thousand positions, equal to 21,8% of the total hirings expected. The sectors that most often resort to foreign labor include operational support services for businesses and people (36,4%), transport, logistics and warehousing services (32,3%), metallurgy (27,3%), the food industry (24,6% ) and accommodation and restaurant services (22,9%).
A territorial level, the North East has the highest mismatch between labor supply and demand, with 54,2% of the requested profiles difficult to find, followed by the North West (49,9%), the Center (47,4%) and the South (44,9%).
"The Italian companies continue to find workers with great difficulty they are looking for and this problem, which also has to do with the issue of the birth rate decline, is also costing us a lot in terms of GDP" underlined the president of Unioncamere, Andrew Priest. “This situation is caused by a misalignment between training courses and the needs of the production system” explains Prete, “to resolve it we need to act on the training and information of young people so that they know where it is most likely that their right aspirations will be satisfied. But in the short term, a significant effort to plan migratory flows can certainly help."
