Employment Differences, Convergences and Similarities in Italian Provinces

The objective of the paper is to provide some empirical evidence on the differences in the employment performance and dynamics of the Italian provinces. In the first part of the paper, after a having recalled the most recent empirical literature about regional labour market performance, we carry out a convergence (of s- and ß-type) analysis of the provincial employment rates (total and female) over the period 1995-2002. In the second part of the paper, using a wide set of employment indicators, a cluster analysis is implemented in order to draw some provincial labour market profiles. Our outcomes confirm a deep diversification of labour market performance across the country but also some signs of a weaker persistence of it: the generalised improvement of labour market performances is indeed accompanied by a clear (even though weak) convergence dynamic of the employment rates.