But how should governments exactly tackle their low youth labour market participation? How should Italy exactly decrease the youth unemployment rate?.
Youth Unemployment in Italy.
The number of young unemployed people in Italy is getting higher and higher. On the April 2nd, 2013 an Eurostat news release revealed that the current youth unemployment rate for Italy is 37"1. Since the economic crisis the youth unemployment rate has increased rapidly from 20,3 in 20072 until the rate we are facing now. Table 1.1 shows the situation in 2012 regarding the unemployment rates in Italy compared to the European situation. .
Table 1.1 Unemployment rates in Italy in 2012 (%)3.
Youth (under 25's) .
Males (25-74).
Females (25-74).
IT.
35,3.
9,9.
11,9.
EU-27.
22,8.
10,4.
10,5.
Source: Eurostat. tsdec450, tsdec460.
Many young people are not able to find a job and therefore need to keep living at home with their parents or are trying to make a career in a foreign country. As one can see in Table 1.1 the unemployment rates for males and females of 25-74 years is around the EU-level of unemployment rates, but the youth unemployment rate is much higher in Italy than it is in the EU. This makes that young people are often seen as a burden rather than a resource in Italy. .
In order to understand how the Italian government should deal with youth unemployment, one first needs to understand some characteristics of the Italian labour market.
a) Regional differences.
Italy is a country that has substantial differences between its regions. This reflects not only in culture, but also in the labour market. The north of Italy is similar to countries such the Netherlands, Germany and France and it has highly developed industries and low unemployment rates. Central and south Italy on the other hand are not functioning as well as the northern part. .
b) People above 30 years old dominate the labour market.
Due to the last-in-first-out (LIFO) principle young workers are the ones to get hit hardest when a recession kicks in.
