A-Infos (en) Italy, FAI - Umanita Nova: Garibaldi was wounded (but dependent work is no better off) (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

"Never have so many people been employed since the time of Garibaldi" 
thunders Meloni, evidently seeking glory. Leaving aside Garibaldi and 
the ever-paradoxical historical references of the right, it is true that 
employment has increased: "The number of employed people in March 2024 
exceeds that of March 2023 by 1.8% (+425 thousand units)"1, while "The 
number of employed people in July 2024 exceeds that of July 2023 by 2.1% 
(+490 thousand units)"2. ---- But in light of these data, should we 
celebrate by raising a paean to the work of the government right or, 
having overcome the superficiality of political messages in the press, 
get to the heart of the issues?

We are for the second hypothesis and for this reason we will focus on 
some key points:

first of all, according to ISTAT, people who have worked at least one 
hour during the period of time useful for data collection (one week) are 
considered "employed", so "illegal workers and those who contribute to 
family compensation even if they are not in any way active are also 
counted among the employed"3;

compared to 12 months ago, "the number of people looking for work is 
decreasing (-16.7%, equal to -334 thousand units) while the number of 
inactive people between 15 and 64 years of age is increasing (+0.2%, 
equal to +21 thousand)"4;

the total number of hours worked is slightly decreasing again (-0.2%5). 
The exception is the service sector, which however "is also the only 
sector in which per capita income from employment has decreased 
(-0.3%)"6. An indication that part of the increase in employment is due 
to underpaid and precarious work;

the data seem to highlight a shift from employed to self-employed work 
and, in fact, «Over the course of twelve months, employment increased 
among permanent employees (+2.8%) and self-employed workers (+5.0%), 
while it decreased among fixed-term employees (-6.6%)»7. It is possible 
that the decline in fixed-term employees is largely due to the increase 
in self-employed workers, according to the well-known and unfortunate 
dynamic that sees "series B" workers forced by the entrepreneur to get a 
VAT number, paying the related taxes out of their own pocket but 
continuing to live in fact, in all respects, an employment relationship;

as regards youth employment in the 25-34 age group, in our opinion we 
should not look so much at the decline in employed people (-0.6% 
compared to the previous month, but positive on a quarterly and annual 
basis) but, rather, at the rapid growth of inactive young people (+60% 
on an annual basis), a trend that has actually been going on for over a 
year. This is probably an important alarm bell, totally ignored by the 
Prime Minister. We do not agree with anything about the job training 
system that Italy has developed over time (also through investments in 
the PNRR), but we must nevertheless note that our country as a whole is 
providing insufficient and/or inadequate training to support the 
recovery of new employment.

We are pleased that Meloni wants to show "enthusiasm", but reading the 
data more closely we understand how providing partial information is the 
only weapon left, in the absence of arguments, to hide the signs of an 
economic and social crisis that has already hit even economically strong 
countries like Germany.

F. Giusti, E. Gentili

1 Istat: Flash "Employed and unemployed" March 2024, p. 1.

2 Istat: Flash "Employed and unemployed" July 2024, p. 1.

3 Usb: The hoax of the increase in employment: the government plays with 
numbers, February 1, 2024.

4 Istat: Flash "Employed and unemployed" July 2024, p. 1.

5 When not specified, the percentages refer to the change on the 
previous month.

6 Chiara Brusini: Meloni: "Never so many employed since the time of 
Garibaldi". But for Istat in July only the self-employed increased. And 
the hours worked decreased, «ilFattoQuotidiano», September 3, 2024.

7 Istat: Flash "Employed and unemployed" July 2024, p. 4.

https://umanitanova.org/garibaldi-fu-ferito-ma-il-lavoro-dipendente-non-se-la-passa-meglio/
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