The impact the COVID-19 pandemic had
on unemployment was less severe in Italy than in other EU member
States, which was probably an effect of the ban on dismissals
introduced after the health emergency broke out, according to a
new study.
Unemployment in the EU's regions has increased by 12.13%
compared to pre-COVID levels, researchers from the ESPON
European cooperation programme specialised in regional analysis
wrote in the study.
But the impact was different from state to state, they said.
Some countries, such as the Baltic states (48.21%) and the
Czech Republic, were hit extremely hard by the crisis.
These states suffered significant job losses that put an end to
the strong economic growth trends registered in the years before
the pandemic.
Italy and France, on the other hand, registered unemployment
rises of 6.5% and 4% respectively, lower than in other
countries.
The ban on dismissing employees introduced in Italy, unique in
Europe, could explain this.
The ban expired in July 2021 for big companies and in October
for small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular in the
services, textiles, fashion and shoe sectors.
In France, meanwhile, the government's 'whatever it takes'
policy certainly helped soften the effects of the crisis, the
study said.
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