they don’t stop Great Retirement. If we thought the wave of trade that began in 2021, a year after the start of the pandemic, would subside within months, we were wrong. All over Europe there are difficulties in finding staff and the reason is connected not only with the lack of specialists and the difficulty of reconciling the needs of the labor market with the programs of technical schools and universities, at least as far as Italy is concerned. The reason can be found, first of all, in the phenomenon of turnover, which has taken place in recent years throughout the Eurozone.
Contract terms are no longer satisfying as they used to be. Or perhaps you’re just less likely to be satisfied, and risk-taking workers prefer to leave their regular jobs in search of better conditions. Result? Chronic shortage of candidates, survey shows European Data Journalism Network cited by Skytg24 as indicating that the vacancy rate is at an all-time high. According to Eurostat, 3.1% of paid jobs were not filled in the first quarter of 2022, compared to 2.6% in the third quarter of 2021 and 2.2% in the same period in 2019. In Italy alone, 45.8% of employers reported hiring problems in January, compared to 38.6% last year with over half a million vacancies..
The problem concerns not only the hotel and restaurant sector. This is demonstrated by Spain, where last year the number of vacancies increased by 150% in the transport sector, by 111% in public administration, by 91% in professional and technical activities. Although in absolute terms, the largest deficit – as much as 140,000 units – is concentrated in industry and construction. Looking at France, in July 2022, the percentage of industrial companies experiencing recruitment difficulties reached 67%. To see similar figures, one has to go back to 1991. As expected, the reasons must be sought in the “Great Resignation” phenomenon: in our country, 1.66 million resignations were recorded in the nine months of 2022, which is 22% more than in the same period in 2021 with a large impact on women and the 35-54 age group.
According to a survey by the Employment Consultants Research Foundation, 55% of Italian workers want to change jobs because they are unhappy with their current profession. 15% are looking for a new position, but there are those who are attracted by higher wages, those who do not see prospects for personal and professional growth, and those who are looking for greater personal well-being, allowing them to devote themselves to their family and their hobbies. It cannot be ruled out that the proposal of the CICT to introduce a short 4-day work week for professions that allow it, allows to stop the phenomenon of mass layoffs, however, experts say, this is a cyclical phenomenon. Layoff rates tend to remain low during crises (see the early months of a pandemic) and increase during recovery periods, and get stronger as the economy recovers faster. Despite inflation, also provoked by the war, The economic recovery from the pandemic has raised new expectations among workers who are now looking for better opportunities in the market, especially as market power now appears to favor them..
However, it is always good to keep this phenomenon under control to prevent jamming of the turnover mechanism. The system of large resignations is a sign of market mobility and works in the face of a growing trend in demand. But if this is not enough due to a demographic crisis or an imbalance between required and offered skills, the mechanism stops and the number of vacancies becomes unsustainable for the market. Fewer workers also means fewer resources to pay pensions and provide social security services like ours. So dynamism is welcome, but without forgetting the training of current and future workers and the new ruling class.
Source: Elle