Labour Market and Social Exclusion in Italy: The Case of the Working Poor in the Pandemic Era

We investigate whether and how individual and household socio-demographic characteristics, as well as labour market conditions, affect the probability of being a working poor in Italy. We use data for three years, 2019, 2020 and 2021, just before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. We offer both a descriptive and econometric investigation. Our findings suggest a protective role of education against the probability of being working poor, the existence of territorial duality, and a relatively higher risk of being in disadvantaged conditions associated with the presence of household members with disabilities and children. Notably, the effect of gender is less clear as it depends on the role females play in the household. In addition, self-employed workers were the most disadvantaged category and they also suffered a worsening during the pandemic. All in all, the analysis shows that the years under investigation were characterized by a widening of the pre-existing inequalities in the Italian labour market.