The Confindustria Lombardia Research Centre Coordination has produced the 9th edition of the Labour Market Report in Lombardy as part of the annual survey conducted at a national level by Confindustria.

This year, the report, which refers to 2015 data and involved the participation of over 1,000 Lombardy-based companies associated with the Confindustria Lombardia system, is divided into 4 parts:

• the general labour market overview;
• inflow and outflow trends;
• the wage guarantee fund (Cassa Integrazione Guadagni);
• a focus on working hours and absenteeism.

KEY FINDINGS

The negative evolution of the labour market during the crisis did not spare Lombardy, which until 2008 was characterised by frictional unemployment levels and employment and participation rates well above the Italian average.

The global crisis hit the manufacturing-heavy Lombard economy hard, with effects on employment and unemployment only initially delayed by extensive use of social safety nets.

The unemployment rate, which before the crisis was among the lowest in Europe, has almost doubled over the years, rising to over 8%.

It has become increasingly difficult for young people to find work, and many, discouraged after finishing their studies, do not even look: 15-24-year-olds living on the margins of the labour market - including NEETs (over 155,000) and unemployed individuals in training courses (14,000) - total nearly 170,000, more than 18% of the population in that age group.

While the Lombardy situation held up relatively well in domestic comparisons, it revealed all its weaknesses in international ones: a comparison with economically comparable European areas (such as Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria in Germany, Catalonia in Spain, and Rhône-Alpes in France) highlights a growing gap in certain indicators, such as employment and unemployment rates, particularly with the German regions.

After a period marked by many difficulties, 2015 saw the emergence of some important positive signs. For the first time in 7 years, the unemployment rate fell from 8.1% in 2014 to 7.9% in 2015. This decrease is even more pronounced when linked to the sharp reduction in authorised Wage Guarantee Fund hours and when considering "implicit unemployment": the implicit unemployment rate estimated for 2015 is around 8.9%, a slight decrease compared to 2014, when it was 9.7%.

On the employment front, there was a renewed dynamism in inflows, certainly favoured by the measures approved by the Government to support permanent employment: contribution relief and the so-called "increasing protection permanent employment contract".

Despite the recovery in 2015, Lombardy has not yet returned to 2008 employment levels (-27,000 in the 15-64 age group, to which the equivalent workers in the Wage Guarantee Fund, counted by official statistics as part of the available labour force, should be added); however, it is a fact that there are signs of recovery: in 2015, there were 1.1 million hires, an increase of 145,000 compared to 2014 (+14.8%), at a rate higher than the national average (+11.1% between 2015 and 2014).

The dynamics of inflows were driven by the sharp increase in permanent contracts (+52.0% compared to 2014), bucking the trend of the -4.7% recorded in 2014 compared to 2013. Fixed-term hires grew by a more modest +4.1%, while apprenticeship hires fell sharply (-19.9%), though on a much smaller scale (-34,000 units).

Positive indications also emerged regarding the Wage Guarantee Fund in 2015. In Lombardy, over 155 million hours were authorised, a collapse compared to the previous year (-38%), although this sharp decrease is partly attributable to administrative factors that influenced the flow of authorisations in the final months.

Workable hours (an average of 1,659 in 2015) and hours worked (1,562) increase with job seniority and are higher in smaller companies.

Absence hours in Lombard companies averaged 97, with micro-enterprises recording the lowest number: a phenomenon that is not surprising, linked to the greater sense of belonging of the employee, which stems from the smaller hierarchical distance and the direct relationship with the employer.

La composizione delle ore di assenza per causale mostra, anche nel 2015, una netta prevalenza delle malattie non professionali (52%), con i congedi retribuiti che incidono per il 22%, gli altri permessi retribuiti per il 14%, gli infortuni sul lavoro per il 5%, mentre scioperi e assemblee rappresentano complessivamente il 3%.

Attachments

• 160715 Il Mercato del Lavoro in Lombardia - Rapporto 2016 (PDF)