Women and undeclared work

Giaccone, Mario

Overview

Article

Women and undeclared work

Published: 29 April 2008

Mario Giaccone

Employment status

Gender equality

Almost 2.8 million workers in Italy are involved in irregular or undeclared work [1], according to data from the National Statistics Office (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica, Istat [2]); this total represents 12.2% of the overall labour market. Most of these workers are concentrated in the least developed southern regions of the country.[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/undeclared-work[2] http://www.istat.it/

Undeclared work is a persistent feature of the Italian labour market, according to the Vocational Training Development Agency. Women represent a greater proportion of workers in undeclared work than those in the formal labour market and they are mainly engaged in domestic and care work. Most women accept undeclared work because of the lack of suitable opportunities in the formal economy, while some regard such work as a stepping stone towards formal employment.

Almost 2.8 million workers in Italy are involved in irregular or undeclared work, according to data from the National Statistics Office (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica, Istat); this total represents 12.2% of the overall labour market. Most of these workers are concentrated in the least developed southern regions of the country.

Undeclared workers are in a more precarious situation as they are not officially registered for social security or other employment rights. The 2007 annual review by the Vocational Training Development Agency (Istituto per lo Sviluppo della Formazione Professionale dei Lavoratori, Isfol) includes research on the extent of undeclared work among women.

Context

According to 2001 figures from Istat, about 1.35 million women are in undeclared work, accounting for 47.6% of all undeclared work in Italy; this proportion is higher than their share in the formal labour market (41%). In terms of economic sector, women are most prevalent in education, and health and social work (79.6%), activities of households (77.7%) and business activities, that is, services to companies (50.9%) (see table). Meanwhile, activities of households is the sector with the highest proportion of undeclared work (72.6%), followed by agriculture (33.1%), hotels and restaurants (16%), other community, social and personal services (15.8%) and construction (13.5%).

**Economic activity, by sex and by rate of undeclared workers, 2001 (%)**
	Gender distribution across sectors		Rate of undeclared workers in sector
	Men	Women	Men	Women	Total
Agriculture	67.4	32.6	32.1	35.4	33.1
Manufacturing	71.6	28.4	4.8	4.5	4.7
Construction	92.8	7.2	13.4	16.0	13.5
Wholesale and retail trade	57.3	42.7	9.1	10.7	9.8
Hotels and restaurants	58.9	41.1	18.2	13.7	16.0
Transport, storage and communications	89.9	10.1	8.1	3.0	6.9
Financial intermediation	59.0	41.0	2.6	2.8	2.7
Business activities (services to companies)	49.1	50.9	11.1	14.0	12.4
Education, health and social work	20.4	79.6	3.0	6.3	5.1
Other community, social and personal services	85.2	14.8	23.9	5.3	15.8
Activities of households	22.3	77.7	80.8	70.5	72.6
Total	52.6	47.6	10.6	14.5	12.2

Note: The 2nd and 3rd columns show the proportion of men and women active in the particular economic sector. The remaining columns outline the proportion of men and women – and the overall total – who are working illegally in the sector.

Source: Isfol calculations based on Istat

Isfol research

About the study

Isfol carried out field research on undeclared work among women by collecting 987 questionnaires in the three large cities of Turin in the northwest of Italy, the centrally located capital city of Rome and Bari in the southeast of Italy. In addition, the training agency conducted 150 in-depth interviews (50 for each city), with the support of ‘mediators’ of public employment services, trade unions, women and immigrant associations, municipal social and immigrant services, and small enterprise associations.

Some 65% of the survey respondents were aged 25–44 years. One third of the respondents were migrant women, 56.2% of whom came from non-EU countries while 35.7% had arrived from the new Member States which joined the European Union in 2004 or 2007. A total of 27% of the non-EU respondents were living without official documentation in Italy; therefore, it may be concluded that undeclared work is a necessity for them due to their illegal status. Overall, 64% of the Italian respondents were younger than 35 years; this proportion was 45% among the migrants.

Study findings

The figure below shows that more than half of the respondents (55%) undertake illegal employment out of necessity, either due to lack of alternatives in the formal labour market (cited by 43% of respondents) or to achieve a better work-life balance than is possible in a regular job (12%). Some 33.8% of respondents consider their current undeclared job as a transitory status that serves as a stepping stone into the formal labour market by gaining some prior work experience. More specifically, 17.8% of all respondents believe that undeclared work is useful either for entering into their sector of interest or for their career, 6% are still students and 10% are waiting for other opportunities. Finally, 18% of those surveyed deliberately opt for undeclared work, either to boost their income (6%) or to maintain the current benefits they enjoy (12%), such as unemployment benefit or non-active housewife allowance. A related motive in this regard is to avoid the tax burden deriving from a higher income.

Figure 1: Reasons for working on an undeclared basis (%)

Note: Respondents could choose more than one answer.

Source: Isfol annual review, 2007

It is possible to draw three main profiles of women in undeclared work:

young women aged 20–34 years (60% of respondents), without family burdens, having a secondary education and earning €500 to €700 a month. They perceive undeclared work as a stepping stone into the regular labour market and appear to be grateful to their employer;
women aged 35–44 years (20% of respondents), married with children, having a basic education, officially registered as unemployed, and earning €300 to €700 a month. They are looking for a flexible job to suit their work–life balance, which they do not find in regular employment. This appears to be the most vulnerable group;
women aged 45–54 years (16% of respondents), married with children, officially registered as unemployed, performing domestic and personal care tasks, and earning €300 to €500 a month. This group includes women with low educational attainment who lost their regular job, those re-entering the labour market after having taken care of their children, and those who need to work after a separation or divorce from their partner.

Commentary

Undeclared work remains one of the most critical issues in the Italian labour market because of its prevalence and its connection with high levels of both tax evasion and work accidents (IT0612029I). A lack of regulatory tools persists in spite of the labour market reform established by Law No. 30/2003 – also known as the Biagi law (IT0307204F) – which envisaged regulation for so-called ‘mini-jobs’.

Further information

For a European comparison of undeclared work, its extent and the way EU Member States tackle the issue, see the EIRO comparative study on [Industrial relations and undeclared work](/search/node/eiro OR thematicfeature11?oldIndex); see also the Italian national contribution to this study.

Mario Giaccone, Fondazione Seveso

Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.

Eurofound (2008), Women and undeclared work, article.