Lottomatica Foundation presents the Report “Possible new beginnings: NEETs and interrupted transitions among young adults”

Lottomatica Foundation presents its new report “Possible new beginnings: NEETs and interrupted transitions among young adults” edited by Percorsi di Secondo Welfare, and written by Alice Sofia Fanelli, Concetta Filace, and Franca Maino, with a foreword by Maurizio Ferrera.

Introduction

This report is the third in a series dedicated to the FAST Agenda, the agenda for the modernization of the welfare system launched by the Lottomatica Foundation in 2024, centered on four key areas— Family, Daycare, Services, and Time — all united by the need for timely and targeted interventions to address the challenge of the declining birth rate. While the first two reports focused on supporting fertility and early childhood services, this third report broadens its scope to address the situation of young adults and, in particular, the phenomenon of NEETs in the 25–34 age group. The link to the Agenda’s framework is close: the prolonged transition to adulthood, the difficulty in achieving economic and housing independence, and the consequent postponement of life plans—including parenthood—directly connect the NEET issue to the roots of Italy’s demographic decline. Investing in young people who are neither in education nor employment therefore means taking action “upstream” on one of the preconditions for birth rates and the sustainability of the intergenerational pact, in line with the same logic of speed and practicality that gives the Agenda its name.

The report provides an in-depth analysis of the NEET phenomenon in Italy, focusing in particular on young adults—specifically those aged 25 to 34—a group often overlooked in the literature but one that faces complex, multifaceted challenges. The study is based on a combination of primary and secondary sources, supplemented by a desk review, to map and understand the NEET phenomenon both at the national level and across the country’s various macro-regions. To complement the analysis, four local case studies were examined, distributed across the country’s three macro-regions (Turin, Brescia, Ravenna, and Catania).