Labour: Italians aware of growth, but mistrust

Almost seven out of ten Italians are aware that the employment rate has risen, but a large proportion (almost four out of ten) complain of a deterioration in the quality of employment. Within the majority who have a positive opinion of the government's labour policies (65%), those who express 'little' confidence prevail. The phenomenon of 'caporalato' is widely known and the initiatives to combat it promoted by the government enjoy broad consensus (almost nine out of ten).

It is an articulated picture that is returned by the survey on Italians in 'Tableu de bord, the condition of employment and work in Italy', carried out by the Piepoli Institute through 500 interviews conducted among a representative sample of the Italian population of working age. 67% of the sample is aware that the employment rate in Italy has increased in recent months, but the percentage drops to 59% among women. As for the forecast on employment trends, for 46% the number of persons employed in Italy in the next six months will remain the same, overall for 34% it will increase (more in detail for 28% slightly for 6% very much), for 16% it will decrease (for 13% slightly and for 3% very much).

One question concerns the opinion of respondents on the quality of work in Italy: 46% have a neutral position ("neither better nor worse"), followed by 38% who think it is getting worse, while only 13% believe it is improving (3% express no opinion). The worsening is most strongly felt in the over-54 age group (43%) and in the middle 35-45 age group (42%), and geographically in the North West (43%). On the other hand, the positive opinion of an improvement is highest in the North East (17%) and in the 35-45 age group (15%).

The survey also probes the level of trust in the government's labour policies. To the question 'how much confidence do you have in the government's current policies for increasing employment', the majority of respondents answered 'a little' (35%), followed by 'not at all' (29%), but positive answers were joined by a further 30% (in particular, 27% answered 'quite a lot' and 3% 'very much'). The representative sample of the various labour market macro-sectors was asked whether they had noticed an increase in job opportunities in their sector in recent months: 56% answered 'no', compared to 35% 'yes' and 9% 'don't know'.

One part of the survey concerns the phenomenon of 'caporalato' (forced labour): 80% of the sample replied that they knew the phenomenon even if only by hearsay; the highest peaks were recorded among men (85%) and the over 54s (92%). Among the under-34s, 68% of respondents know about the phenomenon. Sixty per cent are aware of the operations carried out in Italy against caporalato and 86% agree with these initiatives promoted by the government (49% very much and 37% fairly); for 68% of the sample, spot checks can be effective, 24% know about it directly or through personal experience (7%) or because they know someone who has suffered the phenomenon of caporalato (17%).