(Teleborsa) – Employment returned to growth in the 2nd quarter of 2021, after five quarters of gradual decline, due to the pandemic shock, in a general context reactivation of the labor market. This is what Istat’s latest quarterly report reveals, according to which the job input, measured by hours worked, records a 3.9% increase compared to the previous quarter and by 20.8% compared to the second quarter of 2020, against a GDP that increased by 2.7% in economic terms and by 17.3% in trend terms.
Employment is increasing but most of it is “at term”
On the labor supply side, there is a increase of 338 thousand employed (+ 1.5%) compared to the previous quarter, due to the growth of permanent employees (80 thousand, + 0.5%), self-employed workers (33 thousand, + 0.7%) and, above all, of temporary employees (226 thousand, + 8.3% in three months).
Compared to the second quarter of 2020, the increase inemployment (+523 thousand units, + 2.3%) it only involves temporary employees (+573 thousand, + 23.6%); in fact, the decline in permanent employees (-29 thousand, -0.2%) and self-employed workers (-21 thousand, -0.4%) continues, albeit to a lesser extent. Both full-time and part-time employees grew (+ 1.8% and + 4.8%, respectively).
In the job search the use of the informal channel continues to prevail: contact relatives, friends and acquaintances remains the most widespread practice (75.2%, +0.8 points); followed by the sending of questions / resumes (63.6%, +6 points) and the response to announcements or the publication of advertisements (28.4%, +3.3 points); less frequent, but increasing, is the share of unemployed who declare that they have turned to the Public Employment Center (18.1%, +3.1 points).
Unemployed and inactive are falling
Always in second quarter, we observe a decline in both the number of unemployed (-55 thousand, -2.2%) both of that of inactive aged 15-64 (-337 thousand, -2.4%).
Compared to the second quarter of 2020, the number of unemployed is increasing (+514 thousand in a year), while inactive people between 15 and 64 years of age are significantly reduced (-1 million 253 thousand, -8.5% in one year), after five quarters of progressive growth.
A new braking in July
The monthly data instead highlights in July 2021 a stop of the growing trend rrecorded between February and June 2021, with a slight decrease inoccupation compared to June (-23 thousand, -0.1%) which is associated with that of the unemployed (-29 thousand, -1.2%) and the increase in inactive people aged 15-64 (+28 thousand, + 0.2%).
Companies looking for employees
On the business side, in the second quarter of 2021, the growth of employee job positions which, in conjunctural terms, mark a 0.7% increase in total. The positive signal characterizes both the at componentempo pieno (+ 0.6%) both that a part time (+ 0.9%), with a greater acceleration of the latter which, in the previous quarter, had marked a decrease coinciding with the reintroduction of measures to contain the health emergency.
On an annual basis, the employment trend records particularly sustained growth (in total equal to 3.6% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, + 3.5% full-time and + 3.6% part-time) because compared with a period characterized by more restrictive measures to limit the pandemic
The vacancy rate increases by 0.6 percentage points on a cyclical basis and 1 on an annual basis. The cost of labor, per unit of work, grew by 0.6% in economic terms, with a more sustained increase in wages (+ 0.7%) and a lower intensity of social security contributions (+ 0.3%), which effect of the persistence of employment support measures implemented through contribution relief.
On an annual basis, however, a drop in labor costs equal to -3.1%. Both components decrease: the wages fall by 2.3% and the social charges 5.4%.
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