International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Table 7.4: Planned non-seasonal hirings of immigrant workers, by industry and year,
2001–2011
# of hirings Share of total hirings
Manufacture Agriculture Total Manufacture Agriculture Total
and services
and services
2001 145,000 2,400 147,400 20.3 30.4 20.3
2002 163,800 2,600 166,400 23.9 35.4 24.0
2003 224,400 4,900 229,300 33.4 47.9 33.5
2004 195,000 5,600 200,600 28.9 42.7 29.0
2005 182,900 3,900 186,800 28.2 33.1 28.2
2006 162,300 4,800 167,100 23.3 31.6 23.3
2007 227,600 8,200 235,800 27.1 46.6 27.2
2008 167,800 4,100 171,900 20.3 28.3 20.4
2009 89,100 3,400 92,500 17.0 36.7 17.4
2010 105,800 2,200 108,000 19.2 34.3 19.3
2011 83,000 3,400 86,400 13.9 29.7 14.2
avg 2001–2011 158,791 4,136 162,927 23.2 36.1 23.3
Note:. Author’s calculation from a table taken from Excelsior data Unioncamere (2011), p.14.
Families’ demand
The employment of immigrants by Italian families for cleaning, personal care and
assistance jobs is not easy to measure. As a matter of fact, most of this employment
is undeclared, at least at the beginning of the employment relationship (Ambrosini,
2011). According to ISMU estimates (see Appendix 2.I for detailed information
on the ISMU survey), the sector may be currently employing about 1 million
workers, the vast majority of whom are women (Ambrosini, 2011). Unsurprisingly,
there are no systematic surveys, like the Excelsior survey, which measure the size
of labour demand from families and their recruiting strategies. Still, there is a
general consensus among experts and researchers that the domestic sector is an area
where informal practices are absolutely predominant in Italy. Indeed, informality
characterizes not only the way labour demand and supply meets each other, but also
the actual employment relationships (at least at the beginning).
There seem to be some structural aspects of these occupations which make it very
unlikely that families are willing to hire workers from abroad. Indeed, “employers
do not usually welcome strangers from abroad into their homes and formally
hire them, entrusting them with their most beloved and defenceless family members.
Consequently, in the domestic sector, it is common, at least initially, to hire
immigrants who still do not have the required documents as a kind of trial period”
(Ambrosini, 2011) (p.3). The match between families and workers, therefore, usually
starts underground and, if it works well for both parties, it can then be legalized ex
post when an amnesty or a “Flows Decree” allows the employer to do so.
But how do Italian families find the domestic and care workers they need? It is
well documented that informal channels are paramount in this area. Direct referral
country studIes – ITALY
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