The paper analyzes how the characteristics of the employees of the local governments in the Southern regions of Italy have changed compared to those of the North-Centre over the period 2008-2019.
During the period analyzed, there was a convergence between the two macro areas in terms of workforce size and costs; however, there are still strong regional differences in employees' seniority, education, professional qualifications and contractual schemes. The skill deficit of the employees of Southern local authorities render them less well equipped than those in the rest of the country to tackle the challenges posed by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).
