ROME. The job offer grows slightly. In the third quarter of 2021 there was an increase of 121 thousand employees (+ 0.5%) compared to the previous quarter. A figure linked to the growth of employees (+156 thousand, + 0.9%), both in permanent and term contracts, which contrasts with the decline in self-employed persons (-35 thousand, -0.7% in three months) . The number of unemployed fell (-134 thousand, -5.4%) and also that of inactive people aged 15-64 (-41 thousand, -0.3%).
Temporary workers, in particular, grow and exceed 3 million: The Istat report shows that in the period considered they were 3,003,000 with an increase of 2.3% on the previous quarter and of 13.1% on the same quarter of 2020. Total employees are 22,919,000 (+ 0.5% on the previous quarter, + 2.2% on the same period of 2020) while employees are 17,978,000, up by 0.9% on a quarterly basis and by 3.3 % on a trend basis. Independents are still down at 4,942,000.
The provisional monthly data for October 2021 also confirm the increasing trend of employed persons (+35 thousand, + 0.2% compared to September), which is associated with that of the unemployed (+51 thousand, + 2.2%) and the decrease in inactive 15-64 years (-79 thousand, -0.6%). Compared to the third quarter of 2020, the increase in employment (+505 thousand units, + 2.2%) affects permanent employees (+228 thousand, + 1.5%) and, above all, those with temporary contracts (+ 357 thousand, + 13.1%); for the tenth consecutive quarter there was a decline in the number of independents (-80 thousand, -1.6%). The growth in employment involves both full-time and part-time employees (+ 1.9% and + 3.7%, respectively). There was a decrease in the number of unemployed (-308,000 in one year, -12.0%) and that of inactive people aged between 15 and 64 (-453,000, -3.3% in one year). ntl
Businesses
On the business side, in the third quarter of 2021 the signs of recovery in the demand for labor continued, with a cyclical increase in employee positions equal to 2.7%. Year-on-year, the 5% growth in employee positions marks a recovery of the overall losses incurred starting from the second quarter of 2020 when, following the pandemic, the demand for private sector jobs began to contract. Compared to the previous quarter, the positive signal characterizes both the full-time component (+ 2.4%) and, to a greater extent, the part-time component (+ 3.4%). The latter, most affected by the effects of the health emergency, shows a less marked increase on an annual basis than the full-time component (3.6% compared to 5.6%).
Hours worked per employee grew by 3.3% compared to the previous quarter and by 2.7% on a trend basis. The reduction in the use of layoffs continues, reaching 40.1 hours per thousand hours worked. The vacancy rate increases by 0.2 percentage points on a cyclical basis and by 0.9 on an annual basis. The cost of labor per work unit recorded a slight growth in economic terms, equal to 0.1%, due to the increase in wages, equal to 0.2%, and the decrease in social security contributions of 0.2%.
On an annual basis, the cost of labor increases more markedly (+ 1.1%), also in this case as a synthesis of a growth in the salary component (+ 1.7%) and a reduction in social security contributions (-0.6 %). Compared to the previous quarters, the decline in social security contributions is more contained also following the gradual fading of the effects of the reductions implemented starting from the second half of 2020 for the relaunch of economic activity.