Despite anti-migrant speech, Italy’s government in desperate need of foreign workers

On Wednesday, European Union member states reached an agreement to toughen measures against irregular migration. However, many of them lack labor and favor labor immigration, as in Italy, where the far-right government has promised residence permits to 450,000 people within three years.

Franceinfo reports that 50,000 of these positions were opened in the beginning of December, whether in agriculture, construction, personal services or tourism, to keep the national economy running. These quotas are the highest in the last ten years, but they will still not be able to meet current needs, according to Andrea Prete, president of the chambers of commerce of Italy.

According to him, the government of Giorgia Meloni itself recognizes that 800,000 extra-community workers are needed, knowing that this number still remains underestimated. One out of two job offers do not find a taker in Italy, he added. Given the flaws in the training system, engineers in the green or digital economy are also in high demand but not always available locally.

The scheme also tries to halt the demographic decline in Italy, as projections for 2040 indicate that the total workforce will be equal to the number of retirees.