Abstract

The pandemic is causing significant job losses and a strong increase in unemployment, including the hidden one. With the beginning of the economic recovery, the social safety nets on which public intervention was based during the lockdown are no longer adequate, and it becomes extremely important to modify the policy mix by including active policies. In order to underpin this argument, evidence provided by economic literature published during the lockdown is leveraged. In particular, the first-ever available data on gross flows of job destruction and creation, along with the risk of a mismatch increase, are considered. Moreover, a simple presentation of the Beveridge curve model is used to depict the possible development scenarios of the labour market during the economic recovery, as well as the role of active policies. The elements presented make it possible to draw up a short list of adequate measures to cope with the situation caused by the pandemic in Italy. Finally, it is argued that, in order to successfully reconcile the restart of working activities, on the one hand, and infection control, on the other, government interventions and the regular functioning of the labour market are not enough – a range of institutions, in particular companies, the industrial relations system, and other social institutions, more specifically the so-called “social normsµ and third-sector organisations, shall do their part.