Piedmont accelerates and with 75 thousand more employed in the first quarter of 2024, it records the best growth rate on the labor market among the Italian regions. After being at the rear of the industrial-driven North for years, the area finally seems to be freeing itself from the automotive crisis to focus on different industrial sectors and, thanks to the boom at the beginning of the year, its employment rate is in line with those of Lombardy and Veneto. The Istat data on the trend of the labor market tell the story of a competitive Piedmont on the employment front. Between January and March, employed people grew by 4.2% compared to the same period in 2023: and the main driver of this newfound vigor are the industrial sectors not involved in the automotive crisis and construction companies, while the sector « services” delivers lower-than-expected results.
«A very positive picture – comments the economist Mauro Zangola, former director of the Research Office of the Industrial Union – within which there are two discordant notes: the very slow growth of independent work, which involves important segments such as entrepreneurs, freelancers and self-employed workers; and the almost unchanged level of gender differentials that penalize women even in the recovery phases”.
Although female employment has grown more than male employment – employed women have increased by 40 thousand units (+5.1%) while men by 35 thousand (+3.6%) – the gender gap, to the detriment of women, it fell by just 0.6 percentage points. Thanks to the sustained recovery in employment, in Piedmont the employment rate of 15-64 year olds went from 66.3% to 69.2% in one year; that of men from 73.1% to 75.7%; that of women from 59.5% to 62.7%.
Industry and construction account for the lion’s share, producing 90% of new jobs: employment in the first area grew by 39 thousand units (+8.9%); in construction by 19 thousand (+18.9%). In agriculture, employment grows by a thousand units, the services sector by 16 thousand (+1.4%). «But in this sector – Zangola points out – there is a drop of 7 thousand self-employed workers in trade and public establishments: 3 thousand women (-7.8%) and 4 thousand men (6.2%)». Situation shared by Veneto (-9.3%) and Friuli Venezia Giulia (-3.6%).
The data also introduces the theme of the slow growth of self-employment: despite a favorable period, entrepreneurs, freelancers and self-employed people have increased in Piedmont by only 7 thousand units (+1.8%): 4 thousand women and 3 thousand men. But in the medium term the data is negative. Looking at the other side of the coin, in the first quarter of the year there were 113 thousand people looking for work, equally divided between men and women, and the unemployment rate, although it fell from 6.5% to 5.8%, is the highest among the Northern regions. Not only that: the gender gap to the detriment of women is anchored at 1.7 percentage points.
Finally, best regional performance for inactive people of working age, i.e. between 15 and 64 years: in the first quarter they fell by 63 thousand units (-8.4%); women by 38 thousand (-8.2%), men by 25 thousand (-8.6%). Among the Northern regions the decline stood at 0.8%. To toast a reversal of the trend that after 40 years sees Piedmont return among the most developed regions of the country, however, it could be soon: «We will understand more in the next few weeks, when the data for the 2nd quarter comes out – concludes Zangola -. In the meantime, it would be a good idea to start in-depth analyzes of the potential and limitations of the system to also understand what measures to adopt.”
