Italy’s precariat grows

Two million seven hundred thousand Italians are now in jobs without a permanent contract, new official figures show.

There was a 7.6% rise (+160,000) in workers on short term contracts with two thirds of this growth affecting Italians under 35 years of age, according to Istat, the national statistics agency.

The figures in detail:

• In 2011, there were 2.4 million on fixed term contracts and 385,000 ‘collaborators’ without permanent positions
• Fixed term contracts now represent 10.3% of the workforce
• 46.7% of those employed in the 15-24 age group are on fixed term contracts, compared to 18% for 25-35 year-olds and just 8% for the over 35s

The new data from Istat underestimates the size of Italy’s precariat as it does not capture the ‘false’ self-employed, workers who are really freelance contractors, or those who are under-employed. For more on this see this posting on research by the CGIL trade union.

Italians on such non-permanent ‘flexible’ contracts tend to have poorer pay and working conditions, research shows.

http://www.istat.it