Italian households and labour market: structural characteristics and effects of the crisis

This analysis aims at studying joblessness and the effect of the economic crisis at the household rather than the individual level. With respect to the main European countries, in Italy the jobless household rate is lower because of the larger household size (the more adults present the lower the risk of joblessness) and the greater propensity to link household formation to employment status. The effects of the economic crisis on the labour market have led to an increase in the jobless household rate. However this increase has been lower than expected, thus suggesting that Italian households have partly absorbed the negative shocks in the labour market. Within households, the job losses mostly related to young people still living with their parents, reflecting an employment protection system that is segmented on a generational basis.