Istat and the "youth unemployment dilemma"

The latest Istat survey bears a couple of "happy novels" on as many fronts that have proved to be among the most problematic up to date: that of general unemployment, on the one hand, and youth unemployment, on the other. According to the latest data released by the Statistical Institute, the rate of total unemployment in our Country, as recorded in August, would be so much a decrease (-0.3%) to return to historic lows (as to say: November 2011) compared to the painful past years. Icing on the cake, youth unemployment item, which has fallen by as much as one percentage point, not quiet so low for just under a decade.

Yet the figure does not seem to appease the spirits, and one wonders whether, on balance, the condition of the inactive, young people in the first place, can really be seen in such positive terms. Firstly, due to salaries not adequate to tasks and skills, and “inappropriate” jobs spread mainly in the South of our Country. For the new generations (twenty and thirty-years aged in search of professional stability) there is an objective difficulty in obtaining an adequate and dignified salary in relation to their living conditions.

Eurostat and Europe's new/old tail fans

Eurostat photographs an Italy that, with 27 young people out of 100, shows itself as the Country facing the greatest difficulties from this point of view, followed by Spain (32.2%) Greece (33%). Once, the acronym commonly used to indicate the Union's taillight was "Pigs"; today's echoes seem to largely confirm that nothing has changed substantially yet.

We add for our Country a worrying increase in inactives (+73.000 units, compared to the previous month's survey, that is July) that concerns the so-called "disheartened", those NEETs that, despite not having a job, also stopped looking for it, and we will have the snapshot of a Country still seriously injured by the economic crisis and its own trail.

Absolute data vs statistical data: let's see clearer...

Istat mentions, as we said above, that youth unemployment has never been so low for at least 9 years. However, if we take a closer look at the statistics and percentages recorded over the individual months, we will find out some interesting info.

First: work’s growing in preference for over50 profiles. On the other hand, employment is falling from month to month referring to all the other social classes. That, therefore, something in our Country is moving at the level of employability, that is, the ability for senior profiles to make themselves appealing in the transition between one professional chapter and another. That, again, a long way must be taken to ensure a level of growth, and (more broadly) of hope, for those who will be the professionals of tomorrow.

Especially at the level of meritocracy and competitiveness of salaries: compared to the previous quarter of the survey, the Istat increase amounted to 12thousand units for the 15-34 year old class (with all reserves related to the same class of survey, which includes a large proportion of the population still in the school age...) is only one-seventh of what the over-50s are earning.

The Italian way to enhance youth talent must therefore still go through a good uphill stretch; the vulnus, especially if shared and supported by a large base of players, is as broad as the deepness of the injury to give remedy to.