El unemployment problem it is the main challenge facing the current Italian government. In the midst of the economic stagnation that the transalpine country is experiencing these days, the unemployment figures raise the alarm voice. In the first quarter of 2014, the unemployment rate has already reached 13,6%, the most affected being young people between 15 and 24 years of age. In the latter sector, unemployment stands at 46%.
The government of the Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, presented last month a labor reform to mitigate these unemployment rates by introducing greater flexibility on temporary work. This law aims to improve the legislation passed just two years ago under the Mario Monti government.
In April 2013, Monti was replaced by Enrico Letta, and in early 2014 Renzi arrived. All of them have defined unemployment as the most serious problem facing Italy. However, the measures taken so far by their respective governments to stimulate employment have not yielded the desired results.
Local experts have already highlighted on several occasions that the reasons why a large part of the Italian population is out of work are not so simple as to be found in labor laws. Its roots run much deeper than Italian politicians think.
Level unemployment in Italy it caters above all to a weak economy that is not demanding workers. Without going any further, the recent slight signs of economic improvement, including an increase in the consumer confidence index last May, it has not yet resulted in a drop in unemployment.
GDP in Italy fell by 0,1% in the third quarter of last year, after which it grew by 0,1% in the following quarter and has fallen again by 0,1% at the beginning of 2014. This stagnation causes , among other things, that no one can really find the magic solution to eradicate unemployment. Economic growth is very weak, so now what is necessary is to give a new impulse in the short term.
El government of Matteo Renzi has drawn up an ambitious reform plan to reactivate the economy. Now there is a huge risk that this new impulse will not be able to stop the bleeding of unemployment. If the trend continues at this rate, by 2020 it is estimated that the unemployment rate could already be around 37%. A real disaster.