(AGENPARL) – mer 03 maggio 2023 Contact Centre
March 2023
Employment and unemployment
Provisional data
In March 2023 the number of employed people grew, while unemployed decreased and inactive persons remained stable.
On a monthly basis, the increase of employment (+0.1%, +22 thousand) concerned both men and women and all age groups, with the exception of people aged 25-34, who were in decline. Overall, the employment rate was steady at 60.9%.
In the last month, the decline of unemployed persons (-1.1%, -22 thousand) involved both genders and people over 35 years of age. The unemployment rate dropped to 7.8% (-0.1 p.p.), the youth rate to 22.3% (-0.1 p.p.).
In March the stability of the number of inactive people aged 15 to 64 was the result of a growth among men and people over 50 years of age and of a decrease among women and people aged 15-24 and 35-49. The inactivity rate was stable at 33.8%.
In the period January-March 2023, with respect to the previous quarter (October-December 2022), employment increased (+0.4%, +90 thousand).In the last three months, a rise was registered for unemployed persons (+0.6%, +12 thousand) while inactive people aged 15-64 years dropped (-1.0%, -125 thousand).
Compared with March 2022, the number of employed persons rose by 1.3% (+297 thousand), the growth concerned both genders and all age groups except 35-49 years; the employment rate showed an increase of 0.9 p.p. .
On a yearly basis, the rise of employed people was accompanied by a decrease of both unemployed persons (-5.1%, -106 thousand) and inactive people aged 15-64 (-2.2%, -281 thousand).
TABLE 1. Employment, unemployment and inactivity rates by SEXMarch 2023, seasonally adjusted data
Percentage values Months on previous months Month on same month a year ago
Percentage points
Mar23
Feb23 Jan-Mar23
Oct-Dec22 Mar23
Mar22
Unemployment rate 6.8 -0.1 -0.1 -0.7
FEMALES        
Employment rate (aged 15-64) 51.6 +0.1 +0.1 +0.6
Unemployment rate 9.3 -0.1 +0.1 -0.1
TOTAL        
CHART 1. EMPLOYED
January 2018 – March 2023, absolute values in millions, seasonally adjusted data
CHART 2. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
January 2018 – March 2023, percentage values, seasonally adjusted data
CHART 3. INACTIVE POPULATION AGED 15-64
January 2018 – March 2023, absolute values in millions, seasonally adjusted data
TABLE 2. Population by SEX and employment statusMarch 2023, seasonally adjusted data
Absolute values
(thousands) Months on previous months Month on same month
a year ago
Mar23
Feb23
(absolute) Mar23
Feb23
(percentage) Jan-Mar23
Oct-Dec22
(absolute) Jan-Mar23
Oct-Dec22
(percentage) Mar23
Mar22
(absolute) Mar23
Mar22
(percentage)
MALES Employed 13,533 +10 +0.1 +72 +0.5 +236 +1.8
Unemployed 976 -14 -1.4 -6 -0.6 -98 -9.1
Inactive (aged 15-64) 4,597 +7 +0.2 -74 -1.6 -121 -2.6
FEMALES         Employed 9,816 +12 +0.1 +18 +0.2 +61 +0.6
Unemployed 1,003 -8 -0.7 +18 +1.8 -8 -0.8
Inactive (aged 15-64) 7,984 -6 -0.1 -50 -0.6 -160 -2.0
TOTAL         Employed 23,349 +22 +0.1 +90 +0.4 +297 +1.3
Unemployed 1,980 -22 -1.1 +12 +0.6 -106 -5.1
Inactive (aged 15-64) 12,581 +1 0.0 -125 -1.0 -281 -2.2
TABLE 3. POPULATION BY AGE GROUP AND EMPLOYMENT STATUS
March 2023, seasonally adjusted data
Absolute values (thousands) Months on previous months Month on same month
a year ago
Mar23
Feb23
(absolute) Mar23
Feb23
(percentage) Jan-Mar23
Oct-Dec22
(absolute) Jan-Mar23
Oct-Dec22
(percentage) Mar23
Mar22
(absolute) Mar23
Mar22
(percentage)
AGED 15-24 Employed 1,188 +6 +0.5 +24 +2.0 +81 +7.3
Unemployed 341 0 0.0 -5 -1.4 -32 -8.5
Inactive 4,252 -3 -0.1 -11 -0.3 -55 -1.3
AGED 25-34              
Employed 4,126 -26 -0.6 +14 +0.3 +34 +0.8
Unemployed 529 +27 +5.3 +6 +1.2 -8 -1.6
Inactive 1,493 0 0.0 -20 -1.3 -75 -4.8
AGED 35-49              
Employed 8,780 +30 +0.3 -44 -0.5 -161 -1.8
Unemployed 653 -26 -3.9 +16 +2.5 -13 -2.0
Inactive 2,160 -28 -1.3 -43 -2.0 -113 -5.0
AGED 50 AND OVER              
Employed 9,256 +11 +0.1 +96 +1.1 +343 +3.8
Unemployed 457 -22 -4.6 -5 -1.1 -53 -10.4
Inactive 17,958 +39 +0.2 -13 -0.1 +28 +0.2
Inactive aged 50-64 4,675 +33 +0.7 -51 -1.1 -38 -0.8
TABLE 4. Employment, unemployment and inactivity rates by AGE GROUP
March 2023, seasonally adjusted data
Percentage values Months on previous months Month on same month a year ago
Percentage points
Mar23
Feb23 Jan-Mar23
Oct-Dec22 Mar23
Mar22
AGED 15-24 Employment rate 20.5 +0.1 +0.4 +1.4
Unemployment rate 22.3 -0.1 -0.6 -2.9
Inactivity rate 73.6 -0.1 -0.3 -0.9
AGED 25-34        
Employment rate 67.1 -0.4 +0.2 +1.1
Unemployment rate 11.4 +0.6 +0.1 -0.2
Unemployment ratio 8.6 +0.4 +0.1 -0.1
AGED 35-49        
Employment rate 75.7 +0.4 +0.1 +0.5
Inactivity rate 18.6 -0.2 -0.3 -0.5
AGED 50-64        
Employment rate 62.5 -0.1 +0.5 +1.2
Inactivity rate 34.2 +0.2 -0.5 -0.8
TABLE 5. EMPLOYED, UNEMPLOYED, INACTIVE POPULATION, Employment, unemployment and inactivity rates
February 2023 – February 2022, revisions of month on previous month changes
YEAR MONTH Employed Unemployed Inactive
population
aged 15-64 Employment
rate
aged 15-64 Unemployment
rate Inactivity
rate
aged 15-64
Employed persons: comprise persons between the ages of 15 and 89 who fall into one of the following categories:
persons who, during the reference week, worked for at least one hour for pay or profit, including unpaid family workers;
persons who, during the reference week, are temporarily absent from work because on vacation, on flexible hours (vertical part-time, recovery work hours, etc.), on sick leave, on mandatory maternity/paternity leave, or on employer-paid vocational training;
persons on parental leave, who receive and/or are entitled to work-related income or benefits, regardless of the duration of the absence;
seasonal workers who during the off-season continue to regularly perform tasks and duties necessary for the continuation of the business, excluding the fulfilment of legal or administrative obligations;
persons temporarily absent for other reasons in all cases where the expected duration of absence is three months or less.
Employment rate: the percentage of employed persons in relation to the corresponding total population.
Inactive persons (persons outside the labour force): comprise persons neither employed nor unemployed, according to the above definitions of employment and unemployment.
Inactivity rate: the percentage of inactive persons in relation to the corresponding total population.
Labour force: comprises employed and unemployed persons.
Months on previous months: change compared with the previous month (quarter).
Month on same month a year ago: change compared with the same month a year ago.
Reference week: week to which the collected information are referred (usually the one before the interview).
Seasonally adjusted data: data from which, using specific statistical methods, the effects of recurring seasonal influences (due to meteorological factors, customs, legislation, etc.) and calendar effects (if significant) have been removed. This treatment of a time series is needed to analyze the short-term changes of an indicator.
Unemployed persons: comprise persons aged 15-74 who:
were not employed during the reference week, according to the definition of employment provided above;
have been actively seeking work, i.e., have taken actions to search for paid employment or self-employment during the four-week period ending with the reference week or have found a job to begin within three months or less of the end of the reference week (including seasonal workers who plan to return to their jobs);
are available to work before the end of the two weeks following the reference week.
Unemployment rate: the percentage of unemployed persons in relation to the corresponding labour force.
Methodological note
Introduction and regulatory framework
The Labour force survey is a sample inquiry conducted through interviews on households, and its main goal is to estimate the main aggregates of the labour supply, employed and unemployed.
The main characteristics of the survey, from methodological aspects to the definition of the variables and indicators, are harmonised at the European level, and consistent with the international standards defined by the ILO. The survey is regulated by specific acts of the Council of the European Commission, the main of which is Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which applies from 1 January 2021 (for further information on the Framework Regulation, Delegates Acts and Implementing Acts, see https://www.istat.it/en/archivio/255370).
The survey is included in the National Statistical Program (edition in force: NSP 2017-2019. Update 2019), published in the Official Journal – general series – no. 35 of 11 February 2021 – Ordinary Annex no. 8).
Reference population, survey and analysis unit
The reference population is composed by all the individuals aged 15 and older, belonging to de facto households whose head resides in the selected municipality. Therefore, members who permanently live together, including hospices, children’s homes, religious institutes, barracks, etc. are excluded from the reference population.
The survey unit is the de facto household, defined as a group of people who are usually cohabiting, whether related or not to other members of the private household, that share household income or household expenses with other household members.
The unit of analysis of the monthly Employment and Unemployment press release is each individual of 15 years of age or more (statistics using the family as the unit of analysis are also produced on an annual basis).
Sample design
The sample design is a two stages one, respectively of municipalities and households, with a stratification of first stage units. All municipalities with populations above a pre-defined level for each province, known as self-representative, are present in the sample with a probability equal to one. Municipalities whose populations are below the aforementioned thresholds, known as non-self-representative, are grouped into strata. They enter in the sample through a random selection mechanism that provides the extraction of one non-self-representative municipality from each stratum. For each sample municipality, a simple random sample of households is selected from the civil registry list.
From the third quarter of 2012, a new sampling design was introduced, that provided the update of the stratification information, and the introduction of a random rotation of sample municipalities.
Since January 2004, the survey is continuous, that is, the information is collected with reference to all the weeks of each quarter. The quarterly sample is uniformely divided between the three months, taking into account the number of weeks that compose each month (respectively 4 or 5). The reference month is composed of weeks, from Monday to Sunday, that occur for at least four days in the calendar month.
Each household is interviewed for two consecutive quarters, temporarily leaves the sample for the two successive quarters, then is interviewed again for other two quarters. That means that approximately 50% of the households are interviewed again after 3 months, and 50% after 12 months, except for non-response. In total, each household remains in the sample for a period of 15 months. Considering that the transition probabilities from inactivity to labour force of individuals above 74 years of age are negligible, to reduce statistical burden on this target population, from 1 January 2011, households composed by only inactive persons older than 74 years of age are not interviewed again.
Data collection
The interview is conducted through a CAPI (Computer assisted personal interview) and CATI (Computer assisted telephone interview) mixed technique. The first interview of each household is conducted with the CAPI technique, while subsequent interviews are conducted with the CATI technique (except for families without telephone or with a foreign family head). In general, the interview is conducted in the week following the reference week or, less frequently, in the three following weeks. Certain survey questions, due to the difficulty in the response or the sensitivity of the subject, provide the right not to respond. Further information on the Labour force survey, and the questionnaire used to collect the data are available at the following link: http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/8263.
Data processing: framework, tools and techniques
The month of March 2023 runs from Monday 27 February 2023 to Sunday 2 April 2023.
The estimator used for the production of monthly estimates is the regression composite estimator. It is an estimator that may be effectively used in case of longitudinal surveys with partially overlapping sample, and that, using the longitudinal component, improves the efficiency of both the level estimates and the estimates of variations between months.