Labour market - Q2 2022

The labour input, as measured by hours worked, increases by 1.3% compared to the previous quarter and by 5.1% compared to the second quarter of 2021. In the same period GDP grows by 1.1% quarter-on-quarter and by 4.7% year-on-year.

On the job supply side, in the second quarter of 2022, the number of employed increases by 175 thousand units (+0.8%) compared to the previous quarter, due to the rise in the number of temporary employees (+48 thousand, +1.6% in three months), and in the number of permanent employees (+126 thousand, +0.8%). The decrease in the number of unemployed (-97 thousand, -4.6% in three months) is associated with a reduction in inactive people aged 15-64 years (-121 thousand, -0.9%). Rates follow the same dynamic: in the quarter, the employment rate among people aged 15-64 years increasing by 0.5 points compared to the previous quarter going up to 60.2%, and the unemployment and inactivity rates both decrease (-0.4 and -0.3 points respectively). The monthly seasonally adjusted provisional data referred to July 2022 point to a slight reduction in the number of employed people (-22 thousand, -0.1% compared to June 2022) and in employment rate (-0.1 percentage points), a new decrease in unemployment (-32 thousand, -1.6%) and in unemployment rate (-0.1 points) and an increase in inactivity (+54 thousand, +0.4%) and in inactivity rate (+0.2 points).

In a year-over-year perspective the growth in employment (+677 thousand, 3.0% compared to the second quarter of 2021) involves both employees – permanent employees (+369 thousand, +2.7%) and temporary employees (+245 thousands, +8.3%) – and, less intensively, self-employed (+36 thousand, +0.7%).The number of unemployed declines (-382 thousand in one year, -16.0%), accompanied by a reduction in the number of inactive people aged 15-64 years (-588 thousand, -4.4% in one year). The year-over-year growth in the employment rate (+2.3 percentage points by the second quarter of 2021) is associated with the decrease in unemployment and inactivity rates (-1.6 and -1.3 percentage points respectively).

On the enterprise side, labor demand shows on a quarterly basis an increase in total employee jobs equal to 1.3%, mainly deriving from the full-time component (+1.6%) and less intensively, from the part-time component (+0.5%). On an annual basis, total employee jobs continue to show a more marked growth equal to 5.9%, with a greater intensity of the full-time component (+ 6.2%) compared to the part-time (+ 5%). The hours worked per employee show an increase on a quarterly basis (1.3%) and a more evident one on an annual basis (5.6%). The use of short-time working allowances fell to 8 hours per 1,000 hours worked. The job vacancy rate increases compared to the previous quarter (by 0.2 percentage points) and with respect to the second quarter 2021 (by 0.4 percentage points). Total labour cost and its components – wages and salaries and social security contributions – show the same growing dynamic on a quarterly basis, equal to +0.6% while, on an annual basis, labour cost increases by 0.2%, due to the increase in wages and salaries (+ 0.5%) and the reduction in social security contributions (-0.3%).