Boom in seasonal job offers but no one shows up

Boom in seasonal job offers but almost zero applications.

With the end of the State of Emergency and the farewell to almost all restrictions, the tourism sector in Italy is preparing to experience a summer season at pre-pandemic levels. The numbers are significant: it is estimated that around 51% of Italians will go on holiday, 30 million people. The seaside will remain the favourite destination with 57%. Considering also the number of foreigners who will return to stay in our country, in the coming months 343 million presences between Italians and foreigners are expected (a +35% compared to 2021, ed.) with an expected tourist expenditure of 26,4 billion euros. 

With these forecasts, the demand for seasonal workers. Throughout the summer of 2022, seasonal workers employed in the hospitality, catering and retail sectors will exceed half a million, reaching 560. They will be needed in all Italy cooks, waiters, receptionists, lifeguards, bartenders, entertainers, etc.

But in front of this comforting increase in job offers Unfortunately, it is important to note that this year operators are having difficulty finding employees. A significant problem that risks damaging the entire sector with 6,5 billion euros less in consumption. The minister Garavaglia spoke of a gap of 300-350 thousand people. The trend is also confirmed by the analysis of Applavoro.it, the portal that connects job supply and demand by focusing on meritocracy.

The number of job advertisements, especially seasonal ones, has increased in recent months, a sign that there is a lot of demand for various roles. What is worrying is the lack of available candidates for seasonal assignments.

“Comparing the numbers of the last two months, we have recorded a drastic drop in candidates at the expense of an increase in job offers” – he said Marco Contemi founder of the portal. “It is clear that we are faced with a worrying gap between supply and demand. The hospitality, restaurant and tourism sectors no longer seem to have appeal for young people. Exhausting shifts, weekend work often for minimal wages have pushed people elsewhere. It is urgent to invest in training, create incentives for workers and ad hoc measures for companies”.

In the last month the most popular job offers on the portal AppWork are those reserved for seasonal workers to be employed in the summer months in the hospitality and tourism-hotel sector. Many offers for waiters, entertainers, cooks, chefs, shop assistants, promoters throughout Italy, especially in the maritime areas but also in the large cities of art.

Growing job offer numbers clash with the decline in applicants. In recent months, it has been recorded that the number of new offers is 2 times higher than the number of applications. This shows how fewer and fewer people are applying.

Candidate Crisis: Possible Reasons  

There may be many reasons why people, and especially young people, no longer seem to be interested in working in restaurants, hotels and bars. The one that has certainly ended up in the crosshairs of criticism is Basic income. The welfare measure that guarantees a monthly income to the unemployed in Italy may have discouraged people from re-entering the workforce.

The difficulty of the sector in finding the figures sought was already there even before the pandemic. The impression is that with the closure of hotels, restaurants and bars in the darkest period of the fight against covid-19 it has pushed many people to head to other sectors contributing to the creation of this void that should be filled with specific and urgent interventions by the Government.