ROME. The level of employment in the first quarter of 2021 it is 1.1% lower than in the previous quarter, with a decrease of 254 thousand units. Both people looking for work (+ 2.4%, equal to +59 thousand) and inactive people between 15 and 64 years old (+ 1.0%, equal to +134 thousand units) are increasing. ‘year, with 34,000 new jobs, the slight growth in employment already recorded in February was confirmed, however the data should be read with caution, because – compared to February 2020, last month before the pandemic – there are almost 900,000 fewer employees and the employment rate is 2 percentage points lower.
In short, chiaroscuro photography surveys released by Istat on the eve of May 1st, while the challenge to Covid continues in terms of vaccinations and we begin to think about reducing smart working. The growth in employment involves men, temporary employees, the self-employed and all age groups in particular, with the exception of the 35-49 age group which, on the other hand, is decreasing. The work for women or for employees with permanent contracts is not growing yet.
On the unemployment front, the March rate rose to 33% among young people (while it falls overall by 10.1%), returning to the level of January, the highest in recent years since April 2018. Compared to the only in March, and compared to last year, jobseekers are growing strongly (+ 35.4%, equal to + 652 thousand), due to the exceptional drop in unemployment that had characterized the beginning of the health emergency. On the other hand, inactive people between 15 and 64 years of age decreased (-2.1%, equal to -306 thousand), which in March 2020 had recorded extraordinary growth.
Also compared to the February 2020 level, employment decreases for all population groups, with a more marked decline for categories not protected by the freezing of layoffs such as temporary employees (-9.4%) and self-employed (-6.6%) and for younger workers (-6.5% among the under 35s). Also compared to the pre-Covid situation, the unemployment rate increases by 0.4 points and the number of inactive people is still higher by more than 650 thousand units, with the inactivity rate higher by 2 points.
The decline in the number of job seekers (-0.8% compared to February, equal to -19 thousand units) mainly concerns men and the over 25s, while an increase is observed among women and young people aged 15-24.
In his flash estimate, compared to the acquired change in GDP for 2021, Istat notes that – again on the basis of the first quarter data – it is equal to +1.9%. “In the first quarter of 2021 the Italian economy suffered a new contraction, of a more limited extent than that recorded in fourth quarter of 2020 ». In particular, “the result was affected for the tertiary sector by the economic effects of the measures adopted to combat the health emergency. The intensity of the trend decline in GDP is reduced, passing from 6.6% in the previous quarter to 1.4% ».
Theinflation in April. According to preliminary Istat estimates, the national consumer price index for the entire community (Nic), gross of tobacco, recorded an increase of 0.4% on a monthly basis and 1.1% on a annual (from + 0.8% in March). The tendential acceleration of inflation, underlines the statistical institute, is essentially due to the prices of energy goods, whose growth goes from + 0.4% in March to + 9.4% due to both the prices of the regulated component (which reverse the trend from -2.2% to + 15.7%) and those of the non-regulated component (which accelerated from + 1.7% to + 6.6%). This trend is only partially offset by the reversal of the trend in the prices of unprocessed food goods (from + 1.0% to -0.3%) and those of transport services (from + 2.2% to – 0.7%). The “core inflation”, net of energy and fresh food, and that net of energy goods only decelerate and both rise to + 0.3% (from + 0.8% in March).
The inflation acquired for 2021 is equal to + 1.2% for the general index and + 0.6% for the core component. The prices of food, household and personal care goods amplify their decline (from -0.1% to -0.4%), while those of high-frequency purchasing products accelerate (from +0.7 % to + 1.1%). According to preliminary estimates, the harmonized index of consumer prices (Ipca) recorded a monthly increase of 0.9% and 1.0% on an annual basis (from + 0.6% in the previous month). The cyclical increase in the IPCA, more marked than that of the NIC, is explained by the end of the seasonal balances which also extended to March and which the NIC does not take into account; in fact, the prices of clothing and footwear recorded a conjunctural increase of + 5.1% and a less marked decline on an annual basis (from -0.7% to -0.2%).