Youth unemployment and youth employment policies in Italy

The labour market in Italy is characterised by the following structurally specific features: 1) Regional differentials. In 1996 the unemployment rate was between 7% and 10% in Central and Northern regions, while it was over 21% in the South where, moreover, the participation rate was also low, especially for women (37% in the North and Centre, 28% in the South);2) Unemployment is highest for young people. In 1996 the unemployment rate of the 15-29 year old labour force (25.8%), in Italy, was more than double that of the total working age population and the youth problem is much greater in the South where the unemployment rate of 15-29 year olds rises to 45.3%; 3) The low rate of employment is mainly due to the lower female rate of employment (36.2%) that is far inferior than the EU average rate of employment (49.7%). Why is the youth unemployment rate so high?