Excelsior Forecasts

Work, here are the biggest hiring opportunities in September

In September 538,000 entries planned by companies but almost one in two is difficult to find

12 September 2024

3' min read

There were 538,000 workers sought by companies in September, with either a fixed-term contract of more than one month or an open-ended contract. But almost one in two hires is difficult to find, according to companies: the greatest difficulties concern specialised workers, managers and technical professions.

Demand grows in services, slows in manufacturing and construction

These are the employment forecasts from the Excelsior Bulletin, produced by Unioncamere and the Ministry of Labour, which show an increase of 7 thousand new hirings planned by businesses compared to September 2023 (+1.3%), thanks to the good performance of the services sector - there are 386 thousand contracts planned (+3.9% compared to 12 months ago) - with the decisive contribution of tourism businesses (+21.4% in September) and trade businesses (+25.4%). On the other hand, demand from industrial companies is slowing down with 152 thousand planned hirings (-7 thousand).

The largest job opportunities come from personal services, which are looking for 101 thousand workers (-9% on 2023), followed by tourism with 84 thousand requests (+21.4%) and commerce with 75 thousand (+25.4%). Among the main manufacturing sectors that are planning to hire there is mechatronics with about 24 thousand contracts in the month (-6.8%) followed by metallurgy with 18 thousand contracts (-10.2%) and food industries that are looking for 17 thousand workers in September (+23.7%). Overall, manufacturing companies are looking for around 98 thousand workers (-1%), while construction companies are looking for over 54 thousand (-10.5%).

The most popular type of contract? the fixed-term contract

Fixed-term contracts remained the most popular form of contract with 306,000, or 56.9% of the total, followed by open-ended contracts (104,000).

What are the most difficult profiles to find?

In September, companies reported recruitment difficulties for more than 254,000 hires (47.2 per cent of the total), mainly due to a 'lack of candidates' (30.4 per cent).

The professional groups with the highest mismatch - i.e. for which it is most difficult for labour supply and demand to intersect - are specialised blue-collar workers (65.6% the share of hard-to-find entries), executives (61.4%), technical professions (52.9%) and fixed and mobile plant operators (51.5%). In particular, Excelsior's Bollettino delle professioni reports that the most difficult to find figures include specialised construction finishers (79.0%), toolmakers blacksmiths (78.8%), toolmakers, workers and craftsmen in the wood treatment industry (76.0%) and foundry workers, welders (73.3%). Also difficult to find are technicians in the management of production processes of goods and services (71.9%), mechanics, fitters and repairers (69.5%), beauty care workers (66.3%) and technicians in the engineering field (65.6%).

Financial and insurance services stand out among the 165,000 offers for young people

The opportunities for young people 'under 30' are close to 165,000, accounting for 30.6% of the total employment in September. The greatest employment opportunities for young people are offered by financial and insurance services (48% of entries covered by young people), IT and telecommunications services (47.6%), media and communication services (47.4%), trade (41.2%) and accommodation and food services (41.0%).

Over 100,000 entries are expected for immigrants

Enterprises are looking for immigrant workers to cover more than 100,000 planned entries in September, representing 19.4 per cent of the total contracts. Among the sectors that make most use of foreign labour are: operational support services for companies and individuals (34.3% of planned entries will be covered by immigrant personnel), transport, logistics and warehousing services (32.8%), metallurgy (23.6%), accommodation and food services (23.3%) and food (19.5%).

North West and Centre grow, North East suffers

At the territorial level, the demand for labour by companies in the North-West and the Centre increased (+6 thousand hirings for both territorial areas), the demand for labour by companies in the South and Islands was almost stable, while there was a decrease for companies in the North-East (-4 thousand hirings).

Claudio TucciRedattore
Luogo: Roma
Argomenti: Mercato del lavoro, education
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Giorgio PogliottiRedattore esperto
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Lingue parlate: italiano e inglese
Argomenti: mercato del lavoro, relazioni industriali, formazione, welfare
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