NEET rate at 22.4% and a significant Gender Gap: Lottomatica Foundation presents its third FAST Report at PiazzAsiago

The report, curated by Percorsi di Secondo Welfare, analyzes the 25-34 age group and identifies personalized support as the key to helping young people get back on track.

For the third consecutive year, the Lottomatica Foundation is participating at PiazzAsiago, the cultural and political festival conceived and organized by David Parenzo and Alessandro De Angelis, which this year will take place in Piazza Giovanni Carli in Asiago from August 1 to 5, 2026. During the panel discussion“Work, the NEET Emergency: A Possible New Beginning,”President Riccardo Capecchi presented “Possible New Beginnings: NEETs and Interrupted Transitions Among Young Adults,”the third report in the FAST Agenda series produced by Lottomatica Foundation in collaboration with Percorsi di Secondo Welfare and the University of Milan.

The third Report on the FAST Agenda: the situation of young NEETs in Italy

Following the first two reports on birth rates and early childhood services, the new study turns its attention to the situation of young adults who are neither in school nor employed, with a focus on the 25–34 age group. The Istat data analyzed in the report paint a picture marked by significant disparities:

• The NEET rate among people aged 25 to 34 stands at 22.4% in 2024, down from its pandemic peak but still higher than the European average;
• This phenomenon disproportionately affects women, who are burdened by caregiving responsibilities and have less job stability;
• Southern Italy has a rate of over 30%, compared with rates between 10% and 20% in the North and Central Italy.

In addition to the quantitative analysis, the report includes qualitative interviews conducted as part of four local projects in Turin, Brescia, Ravenna, and Catania, identifying personalized support and collaboration among public agencies, the third sector, and businesses as the most effective ways to promote the employment of young people who are furthest from the labor market.

The FAST Agenda: An Ongoing Research Journey

This report is part of the initiative launched by the Lottomatica Foundation in 2024, centered on the four pillars of the FAST Agenda —Family, Daycare, Services, and Time—which was created to address the challenge of the declining birth rate through timely and targeted interventions. While the first two reports focused on support for families and early childhood services, this third installment represents the natural flip side of that approach: the situation of young adults who are unable to achieve economic independence is an integral part of the demographic issue, as it delays their life plans and the formation of new families.

Lottomatica Foundation’s participation in PiazzAsiago underscores its commitment to forums for public debate on issues that directly affect the country’s future, contributing its research to a context open to dialogue among politics, culture, and civil society.