Page 31 - Investing in Bergamo EN

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POPULATION, WORK FORCE,
EMPLOYED AND UNEMPLOYED

A little more than 1.1 million people reside in Bergamo, of which 11.6% were born
outside the European Union. Women make up 50.6%, forty-year-olds are the most
numerous and the average age is 42. In the coming years, 8,000 people a year are
expected to leave the labour force due to age.
In the last 40 years, the population increased by over a third. Bergamo is, in the North,
the territory with the most vibrant demographic dynamics, in fourth place among the
110 Italian provinces. It was always one of the provinces with the highest population
in every decade between the censuses. Compared to the Italian average, this
demography makes Bergamo a relative young province, the youngest in Central-
Northern Italy, and the fifth youngest in the whole country. However, there are more
age groups exiting the labour force than there are entering it. The supply-demand job
offer requires an increase in the youth activity rate.
The activity rate is higher for men and below the international standard for women. This
is influenced by the high industrial concentration that favours male employment and
the weakness of some services, including public services, which limit the possibilities
of female employment. The rather low participation rate of women, which in any case is
evolving, is the main cause of Bergamo’s output gap.
The unemployment level is below the European average; before the crisis, it was on
a frictional level (just above 3%, with nearby Lecco, the lowest in Italy). The decline
in employment almost entirely affected young people. Until 2008, the unemployment
rate for people under the age of 24 was also well below the European average and
underwent an explosion, never seen before, of 15 percentage points, on which weighed
the raising of the retirement age accompanied by the raising of the compulsory school
age and the discouragement to enter the labour market. The NEET (Not Engaged in
Education, Employment or Training) percentage for young people aged between 15-29
years was 20%, five percent lower than the Italian average.
The recession was mainly felt by workers with lower qualifications and office workers.
The demand for labour by education qualification in 2014 was distributed as
follows (Unioncamere - Progetto Excelsior): university graduates 14.8%, high school
graduates 45.5%, professional qualifications 11.2%, others 9.5%. These values
are in line with the national values, with a few decimal points higher for high-school
graduates.
With regard to professions, the demand for industrial labour benefits skilled
workers (30.1%), followed by plant operators (24.7%) and technical professions
(21.6%). These are followed at a distance by office workers (8.4%) while the demand
for highly skilled professionals is relatively high (5.9%).
Despite the recent turmoil, the ratio of 47 jobs for every 100 inhabitants is in line with
the average of high-income European countries.