"Since February 2020,
the level of employment has fallen by almost 500,000 units and job seekers have grown by about 50,000
, against an increase in inactive persons of almost 400,000".
Istat writes this in the flash statistics on employed and unemployed in July.
"In four months - continues the Institute - the employment rate has lost more than one point, while the unemployment rate, with the July data, returns above the February levels".
The last year saw a hemorrhage of temporary employees (down by -16.2% in July over 12 months, -498 thousand) and self-employed workers (-4.5% equal to -239 thousand).
The decline in employment recorded by Istat, on the other hand, does not concern permanent workers, who are also protected by the blocking of layoffs for Covid-19 and have grown by 1.2% (+181 thousand).
The number of job seekers increased significantly in July 2020, while inactive people decreased.
Thus the unemployment rate recorded by Istat rises to 9.7% (+0.5 points from June, +0.1 points from July 2019).
The unemployed increased by 5.8% (+ 134 thousand units) while the inactive decreased by 1.6% (-224 thousand units) with a contraction that affects men, women and all age groups.
The inactivity rate decreased, settling at 35.8% (-0.6 points).
YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT
- The youth unemployment rate returns to above 30% in July, for the first time in over a year, starting from April 2019. Istat confirms it at 31.1% for the 15-24 age group years, up by 1.5 points from June and 3.2 points from July 2019. "On an annual basis - underlines the statistical institute - unemployment grows among children under 35 and falls in other classes".
Between the ages of 25 and 34, the unemployment rate is 15.9%, almost triple that of the 50-64 age group, and has grown by 0.9 points in the last month and by 1.4 points in the last year.
EMPLOYMENT GOES UP -
In July, after four months of consecutive declines, employment "returns to growth".
Istat records an increase in employment on a monthly basis (+ 0.4% equal to + 85 thousand units) which involves women (+ 0.8% equal to + 80 thousand), employees (+ 0.8% equal to + 145 thousand) and all age groups, with the exception of 25-34 year olds.
The employed men are substantially stable, while the independent ones decrease.
Overall, the employment rate rises to 57.8% (+0.2 percentage points).
Compared to July 2019, the number of employees decreased by 556,000 units and the employment rate lost 1.3 percentage points.
