This paper describes the evolution of the occupational structure in Italy in the last decade and analyses whether job opportunities have been polarized towards low- and high-qualified occupations. In many advanced countries the occupational share and relative wages of low- and high-qualified (and low-pay and high-pay) occupations have increased in the last decades, while those of middle-qualified occupations have decreased.
In the period 2007-2017, employment in Italy grew among the lowest qualified occupations and declined among middle qualified jobs. On the contrary, wages increased for all occupations at the same rate. Thus, no clear evidence supports the hypothesis that automation technologies, which substitute for routine-intensive labour while complementing manual and analytical labour, are the main determinant of the occupational changes observed.
Published in 2020 in: Social Indicators Research, pp. 1-32
Published in 2020 in: Social Indicators Research, v. 152, 2, pp. 673–704
