A factor in this increase has been the excessively slow transition to the contributionsbased pension system. The older generations have been less severely affected. The recession has exacerbated economic difficulties above all for the young.
The unemployment rate of Italians aged 15–24 rose by nearly 7.6 percentage points between 2007 and 2010 (nearly 3 points more than the average for the EU-15) and that of those aged 25–34 by 3.6 points; in the 35–64 age-group, the increase was 1.8 points. One source of difficulty has been the marked dualism of the labour market.