For the past two years, as part of her PhD dissertation at Torvergata University in Rome, Agenese Romiti has been studying the effects of immigration on the Italian labour market. Agenese comments, *”Immigration in Italy is quite recent and an increasing phenomenon; immigrants were almost absent at the start of the 1990s and they now represent 7% of the resident population”.* She feels there is much to gain from immigrants’ contribution to the job market: *”The benefit from immigration is particularly from the supply of immigrants employed in household services and long-term sectors *(care for elderly parents and housekeeping activities).”*
It is the tradition in Italian culture that the family will care for its aging relatives within the comfort of the family home. Private senior care facilities are not a part of the society and with an increasingly aging population (Italy is the oldest population worldwide after Japan), a large segment of the population will need more assistance as they age.
*”Immigration has filled this gap in the labour market by increasing the availability of workers employed in these types of services, and at the same time reducing its cost.”* Agnese continues, *”In terms of the impact of immigrants on the labour market, I have found that immigrants do not displace natives for employment”.*
Due to high unemployment rates and bad career prospects, the segment of Italian society not receptive to immigrants is the Northern League, a right-leaning popular political party known in Italy as Lega Nord per l’Indipendenza della Padania. The Northern League is a federalist party which continues to uphold the position that immigrants take jobs from native Italian job-seekers.
Despite this current political viewpoint, that immigrants deprive jobs from employable Italians, immigrants continue to make their way in the job market and eventually succeed within their communities.
Karim is an immigrant who arrived from Algeria more than seven years ago and currently resides in a northern town in Italy. In his 40s and educated as a teacher, Karim comments on his own personal immigration experience in Italy,* “I have had many positive experiences in Italy, too many opportunities that my own people did not give me”.*
The potential for immigrants to flourish in Italy is not limited to Karim’s own experience. Ancilla, a native Italian mother and language teacher in her late 50s, lives in the small town of Aldeno. As a volunteer she has chosen to help immigrants learn the Italian language and finds it more common that native residents are receptive to immigrants rather than not:* “In the small town where I live and in my region, most immigrants would tell positive stories over negative ones. In my view, and the vast majority of natives, even the elderly and those with little education, are very much welcoming and open-minded to immigrants”.*
Arrival is only the first step to living successfully as a newcomer in Italy. Italy’s immigration process is a lengthy one and requires 10 years of residence to become a citizen. Once an immigrant obtains citizenship, they have the possibility to vote in public elections and voice their opinions widely. Another challenge immigrants’ encounter is a lack of basic immigration services that are readily available in other countries. Language training, employment and settlement services may be available from non-government organizations in Italy but are not currently readily available through public services.
The potential for economic growth and gains in the labour market continue. Fear of out-of-control migration is not part of the reality according to economist Agenese,* “Due to the current right-wing government, unfortunately, the coverage as far as the recent immigrants’ arrival into Italy is concerned gets distorted. The emphasis in the media has been on the excess numbers of immigrants arriving into Italy as opposed to highlighting the potential benefits our economy might experience from immigration”. *
