“The overall picture is mixed, and is still overshadowed by the pandemic.” The president of Istat, Gian Carlo Blangiardo, does not mince words in the presentation of the report on fair and sustainable wellbeing (Bes). On the other hand, the data show that the account paid to Covid has not yet been fully paid. Especially in terms of well-being. This is demonstrated by the collapse of those employed in cultural activities, as well as the growing number of young people dissatisfied with life.
“Many gaps have been maintained – reads the report – or even widened: from life expectancy at birth, which recovers largely in the North in 2021 but still decreases in the South, to avoidable mortality, which remains higher in many regions of the South; from the expenditure of the municipalities for culture, for which the gap is clearly to the advantage of the Center-North, to the impact of forest fires and unauthorized activities “.
Work
“Cultural and creative employment was hit by the COVID-19 crisis as early as 2020, and – according to the report – shows no signs of recovery in 2021”. At the end of the second year of the pandemic crisis, the employed in the sector are 55 thousand fewer, with a relative loss of -6.7% between 2019 and 2021, more than double compared to the contraction in the total number of employed persons (-2.4% ). With restrictions on places of culture to combat the pandemic, cultural participation outside the home in the 12 months preceding the interview, between 2019 and 2020, goes from 35.1% to 29.8%, and between 2020 and 2021 collapses to 8.3%.
In general, the pandemic has led to a worsening of employment levels in our country and a further increase in the distance with the EU27 average. Specifically, in the second quarter of 2020 the 20-64 year-old employment rate dropped sharply: on the European average -1.9 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, but in Italy it reached -3 percentage points and, even more , in Spain (-4.5 percentage points). The EU27 returns to pre-pandemic employment levels (last quarter 2019) in the second quarter of 2021, while in Italy this happens in the fourth quarter.
Smart working
In 2021, the use of working from home continues as a tool to continue production activities by limiting the risks to public health. The share of employees who worked from home at least one day a week, which was 4.8% in 2019, goes from 13.8% in 2020 to 14.8%. This type of work mainly involves women (17.3% compared to 13% of men), the employed in the Center and the North (respectively 17.7% and 15.9% compared to 10.5% in the South) and those with a high degree who experience work from home in more than one in three cases.
Poverty
The total of minors in absolute poverty in 2021 amounted to 1 million and 384 thousand: the incidence is confirmed as high, at 14.2%, stable compared to 2020, but higher by almost three percentage points compared to 2019, when it was equal to ’11, 4%.
Depressed young people
The percentage of dissatisfied adolescents with a low mental health score has doubled: they were 3.2% of the total in 2019, 6.2% in 2021. “It is about 220 thousand children between 14 and 19 who declare themselves dissatisfied with their life and at the same time find themselves in a condition of poor psychological well-being. On the other hand, the very phenomena of bullying, violence and vandalism by very young people, which in recent months have made headlines, are extreme manifestations of widespread and perhaps not transitory suffering and restlessness »explains Blangiardo. In this same age group, the sedentary lifestyle increased from 18.6 to 20.9%. And among 14-17 year olds, high rates of at-risk alcohol users were observed (23.6%). Satisfaction with relationships with friends also decreased “in a tangible way”.
Climate
«The effects of climate change in terms of temperatures and precipitation are increasingly evident ». In 2021, the minimum and maximum temperatures are higher than the climate average of 1981-2010. The intensity of hot days in the years 2011-2021 is always greater than the median of the reference period in all areas. In 2021, hot days are absent in the North, stationary in the Center (+18 days) and show greater positive differences in the South (25 days) and in the Islands for 13 days. The president of Istat, Gian Carlo Blangiardo, reports in 2020 a “reduction in CO2 emissions resulting from the prolonged closures of economic activities and the attenuation of PM2.5 pollution, which, however, remains high and without appreciable improvements” . The emissions of CO2 and other climate-altering gases (or greenhouse gases) generated by economic activities and by households, reaching the value of 6.6 tons of CO2 equivalent per inhabitant in 2020, due to the restrictions imposed during the lockdown period. Thus continues the decline that began in 2008, the year in which the tons per capita emitted were 9.8.