Mestre’s CGIA business association reports Italy’s declining birth rate is starting to cause problems for the nation’s firms. The number of young people has dropped by almost 1million in the last ten years.
Mestre’s CGIA, the business association, said the overall number of people aged between 15 and 34 had dropped by almost one million in the last 10 years. This makes it difficult for many Italian businesses to recruit young workers.
This factor is on top of the long-standing problem that many of the young people who are available for work do not have the skills companies need.
Also today, National statistics agency Istat said 5.3 million people aged 15 to 34 were in work in Italy in July 2023, a drop of around 2.4 million with respect to the same month in 2004.
CGIA report paints bleak picture
The report by CGIA says the contraction in the most productive age group of working life is causing great difficulties for Italian companies. Many entrepreneurs, in fact, struggle to hire staff. This is not only due to the historic problem of finding available and professionally trained candidates, but also because the pool of under 34s ready to enter the job market is progressively decreasing.
In short, the demographic crisis is making its effects felt. Furthermore, in the coming years the shortage of younger workers is destined to become further accentuated.
By 2027 we will have to “replace” almost 3 million workers
Between 2023 and 2027, for example, the Italian labour market will require just under three million workers to replace people destined to retire. With current legislation, therefore, in the next 5 years almost 12% of Italians will definitively leave their jobs having reached the age limit.
With fewer and fewer young people destined to enter the job market, “replacing” those who retire will become a big problem for many entrepreneurs, the report states.
In addition, the rate of youth unemployment and school dropouts are high, especially in the south. This was noted by Meloni when she visited Caivano this week, where the dropout rate is one of the highest in the country.
In summary, young Italians are declining, with an alarming level of educational poverty and far from the world of work. CGIA claims the comparison with other European countries is alarming.
The CGIA says it is a bleak picture that Italy risks paying dearly for if, as a country system, it does not return to increasing the number of births, investing more in schools, universities and, above all, in professional training.
