Abstract

The aim of the paper is to use flow microdata on new hires and terminations in the manufacturing industry in four Italian regions from 2009 to 2015 to assess the relationship between flexibility and forms of employment contract. The analysis underscores a number of facts: the asymmetric polarisation between workers with fixed-term contracts and workers with open-ended contracts; the fairly limited role of fixed-term contracts as a bridge towards open-ended ones; and the limited duration of open-ended contracts. Problems linked to these facts are stressed appropriately.