In Calabria, looking for a job is a journey into a still that distils rare opportunities for young people and women. This is demonstrated by the numbers which describe an employment rate of 48.5% compared to 75.8% in the EU, a NEET share of up to 26.2%, the highest in Italy, and a female inactivity rate of almost 50%, with 87.8% of young people between 15 and 24 years old out of work and training.
«Being young or being a woman in Calabria means living in a region that too often offers little, asks a lot and gives back almost nothing in terms of dignity and prospects. Every day I receive testimonies from girls and boys who are not asking for privileges, but simply to be able to build a possible present here. Yet, the distance between what we promise and what we manage to guarantee remains abysmal”, says Benedetto Di Iacovo, general secretary of Confial and president of the regional commission for the emergence of irregular work.
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