Istat: in 2020 irregular work under 3 million, minimum since 1995

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The pandemic crisis that began in 2020 has had considerable effects on the use of irregular work which, for the first time since the beginning of the series (1995), is less than 3 million units. TheIstat in a Report on the underground economy explaining that in 2020 there are 2 million and 926 thousand full-time work units (Ula) in conditions of irregularity, mainly employed as employees (about 2 million and 153 thousand units). Non-regular employment – we read – marks a decrease of 18.4% compared to 2019, recording a decrease equal to almost double the regular one (-9.9%).

The use of irregular work

The use of irregular work by businesses and families – explains Istat – is a structural feature of the Italian labor market. Job positions carried out without compliance with current tax and social security legislation are defined as non-regular, and therefore cannot be observed directly in companies, institutions and administrative sources.

The irregularity rate, calculated as the percentage incidence of non-regular AUs on the total, is also in sharp decline in 2020, reaching 13.6%, with a contraction of 1.2 percentage points compared to 2019. Also in 2020 the rate of irregularity is confirmed as higher among employed employees compared to self-employed workers, respectively 13.9% and 13.0%.

The most marked decline

In terms of dynamics, the most marked decline was recorded by the independents, whose irregularity rate dropped by 1.4 percentage points; in particular, in the last year there has been a 22.9% reduction in irregular independent work units and a 13.4% decrease in regular ones. For employees, however, the incidence of irregular work falls by 1.2 percentage points.

In 2020, the incidence of irregular work recorded a widespread reduction in all sectors of economic activity. The sector in which the most significant decline is observed is that of Other services to people, which falls by 3.0 percentage points compared to 2019 (43.4% in 2020 against 46.4% in 2019).