In 2005 it stood at 57.6 per cent, against an EU average of 63.8 per cent; only Hungary, Poland and Malta had lower figures (Figure 1). The gap is especially wide for women (Figure 2). In Italian society, then, there is no lack of unutilized human resources.
A comparison of employment levels with the other advanced countries shows that the number of potential workers is a good deal higher than that of persons who on the basis of the rigorous international definitions are classified as “seeking employment” in the official statistics.