IT
PRESS RELEASE
Inapp – Ministry of Labour report on the integration of foreign-born citizens
Immigration, Inapp: “Integration struggle: one-quarter of foreign-born citizens feel discriminated against”
Fadda: “The socio-economic condition of foreign-born citizens is worse than that of natives, with higher poverty rates – 30 percent versus 18 percent – and precarious housing conditions. The conditions of disadvantage are more evident in the southern regions and for women with lower levels of employment and higher rates of job overqualification. The data shows the need to identify the causes of this inequality and develop proposals to tackle it.”
Rome, June 8, 2023 – Nearly a quarter of those born abroad feel they belong to a discriminated social group and perceive a limited sense of belonging toward Italy. Conversely, 4 in 10 natives are concerned about the country’s culture and living conditions, which are questioned by people from other countries.
This is one of the main findings emerging from the Report on the Integration of Foreign-born Citizens published by Inapp (National Institute for Public Policy Analysis) together with the Ministry of Labour and presented today during the conference “The Integration of People with Foreign roots,” which was attended by, among others, Maria Teresa Bellucci – Deputy Minister of Labour – and Elena Grech – Deputy Director Representation in Italy of the European Commission. The survey analyses the integration process through education, employment, social inclusion, and living conditions.
By looking at the number of individuals acquiring Italian citizenship or obtaining a long-term residence permit, the North of Italy – which has a higher number of immigrants – has lower numbers of foreign-born Italian citizens but higher number of immigrants with a five-year residence permit – albeit attached to certain income and house parameters – than southern regions.
“Overall,” said Prof. Sebastiano Fadda, president of Inapp, “the socio-economic condition of the foreign-born people is worse than those born in Italy, with higher poverty rates – 30 percent versus 18 percent – and precarious housing conditions. The disadvantaged conditions of the immigrant population are more evident in southern regions in many respects, and especially for women who have lower levels of employment and higher rates of job overqualification than men. The data show the need to identify the causes of this inequality and develop proposals to tackle it.”
The research also shows that there are currently about 3.5 million third-country nationals residing in Italy, an increase compared to 2021 of almost 6 percent, partly due to the conflict in Ukraine. Among the population born in a non-EU country, a greater sense of belonging to Italy, a greater propensity to acquire citizenship, but also a stronger feeling of being discriminated against prevails, compared to natives of another member state. The average activity rate among foreigners appears to be slightly higher (64.7 percent) than among Italian nationals (63.2 percent), with lower levels in the South and Islands for all observed groups. Considering the labour force of non-EU foreigners, the employment rate in the South exceeds the 60 percent threshold, while among EU and Italian nationals it stands at just over 50 percent. In the North the situation is reversed: the labour force share of the reference population is higher among Italian nationals than among foreigners.
With respect to gender, there is a clear higher share of males across all regions (about 79 percent), compared to the female component (47 percent). The difference between the two is highest in the Veneto region (43.6 percent), due to the very high percentage of the labour force share of non-EU foreigners; and lowest in the Umbria region. The unemployment rate of foreign nationals – both EU and non-EU national – is around 15 percent and is higher than that of Italian nationals. The share of fixed-term contracts among non-EU workers reaches 27.8% compared to 22% detected among EU foreigners and 16% among workers of Italian citizenship. A peculiar aspect of foreign workers is overqualification, where gender weighs very differently between EU and non-EU foreign nationals: the situation is worse for EU males, while it is markedly to the disadvantage of females among non-EU nationals.
“In terms of the breadth and reliability of the sources, this report is a unicum inspired by international modelling,” Fadda concluded, “and it would be desirable for our country to put in place the cyclical analyses of similar nature. The problem of inequalities affecting the foreign-born population on many aspects of social life poses very complex challenges both on the level of the conceptual definition of “integration” itself and on that of creating appropriate measures to promote it. That said, these challenges must be addressed to ensure justice and equity but also to promote social cohesion, economic progress and the wellbeing of the population as a whole.”
For more information:
Giancarlo Salemi – INAPP President Spokesperson (347 6312823)
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