Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Work
Employment in the capital is largely based on Italy's bloated state bureaucracy. Every
morning armies of suited civil servants pour into town and disappear into vast ministerial
buildings to keep the machinery of government ticking over. Other important employers in-
clude the tourist sector, banking, finance and culture - Italy's historic film industry is
largely based in Rome and there are hundreds of museums and galleries across town.
But times are tough and job opportunities are becoming increasingly rare, particularly
for young people who struggle to get a foot in the door - unemployment among 15- to
24-year olds currently stands at 39.3% in central Italy. To land it lucky you really need to
know someone. Official figures are hard to come by, but it's a universally accepted truth
that personal connections are the best way of finding work. This system of rac-
comandazioni (recommendations) is widespread and covers all walks of life. In 2010, it
was reported that the wife, daughter and son of the Rector of Rome's Sapienza University
had all landed jobs in the university's medical faculty despite limited academic qualifica-
tions. The story, dubbed parentopoli (relative-gate), was echoed in a similar controversy
that surrounded the employment of hundreds of wives, sons, in-laws and friends of power-
ful local politicians at the city's public transport company, ATAC. The newspapers
screamed scandal, but, in truth, no one was all that surprised.
The average Italian earns US$23,917 per year. But according to Italy's retail association, Confcommercio,
they then have to pay up to 55% tax on every euro they earn.
Like everywhere in Italy, Rome's workplace is largely a male preserve. After Malta,
Italy has the worst female employment rate in the EU (46.5% in 2011), and Italian women
continue to earn less than their male counterparts. They also have to face problems that
their male colleagues don't. According to figures released by Istat, Italy's official statistics
body, in 2008-09 up to 800,000 women were forced to leave work after giving birth. Italian
law legislates against this - and in 2012 Mario Monti's technocrat government tightened
the rules - but sexual discrimination remains a workplace reality for many women.
Rome's under 40s are another workplace minority with many young Romans forced to
accept short-term contracts for jobs for which they are hugely overqualified, such as work-
ing in telephone call centres. These jobs typically offer no security, pension benefits or pro-
spects.
 
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