La disoccupazione in Italia e la crisi economico-finanziaria. Alcune riflessioni[Unemployment in Italy and the economic and financial crisis. Some reflections]

This paper discusses the issue of unemployment in Italy and the consequences on the labor market following the global financial crisis and the subsequent public debt crisis in Europe. It also exposes some reflections on the nature and characteristics of unemployment and the factors that determine it. The analysis focuses on the labor market and the growth of the Italian economy. An economic growth that for over a decade has been weak and further slowed down by the economic and financial crisis that has severely hit Italy. The paper highlights that in Italy there is long-term unemployment rooted more in the South, among young people and women. A first argument of the paper is that boosting growth is one of the preconditions for promoting employment. However, in a world characterized by globalization and technological changes, we also need targeted active labor policies, a better education system and lot of training to increase knowledge, competences and skills. The disparities in the development of the territories (North-South) which make unemployment more severe in the regions of Mezzogiorno and among young people, can be overcome with the creation of more businesses and the spread of entrepreneurship. About the recent reform of the Italian government of the labor maket, the so-called “Job Act” the paper points out both some positive elements as adding new rules and institutions that were lacking in the Italian labor market so far, and the limits of this reform in promoting new employment.