ROME. The growth of fixed-term employees continues: in April – according to Istat – fixed-term employees reached 3 million 166 thousand with an increase of 9 thousand units on March and a growth of 354 thousand units on April 2021 (+ 12.6%), more than half of the overall increase in employment (+670 thousand in one year). For the number of temporary employees this is the highest figure since 1977, the beginning of the historical series.
Compared to March 2022, however, Istat reports a decline in the number of employed and unemployed, while the number of inactive is growing. Employment decreases (-0.1%, equal to -12 thousand) for women, the self-employed and people aged between 35 and 49, remains substantially stable among employees, while it increases for men, under 35 and over 50s.
The employment rate remains unchanged at 59.9%. Istat shows a drop in the number of people looking for work (-0.8%, equal to -17 thousand units compared to March) which is observed among men, the under 35s and the over 50s. There was also a slight decline in the unemployment rate, which fell to 8.4% overall (-0.1 points compared to the previous month).
The increase in the number of inactive people between 15 and 64 years (+ 0.3%, equal to + 34 thousand units) involves both sexes and all age groups. The inactivity rate rises to 34.6% (+0.1 points). Comparing the quarter February 2022-April 2022 with the previous one (November 2021-January 2022) Istat reports an increase in the level of employment equal to 0.6%, for a total of 141 thousand more employees. The growth in employment recorded in the quarterly comparison is associated with the decrease in both job seekers (-4.8%, equal to -107 thousand units) and inactive persons (-0.7%, equal to -93 thousand units) .