With increasing pressure both inside Italy and from the IMF to tackle the country’s deficit and unemployment rate, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has found support for his labour reforms in the form of Adecco CEO Patrick De Maeseneire.  

Speaking with Bloomberg, Mr De Maeseneire said: “Matteo Renzi’s planned economic overhaul is a good first step to bolstering job creation. It’s going in the right direction. I think it’s a signal to the political environment that reforms are absolutely needed here in order to get people back to work.”

Mr Renzi said yesterday that new labour legislation remains his top priority in spite of opposition from unions and members of his own political party, reports Bloomberg.

In August, Italy’s largest trade union petitioned the European Commission to overturn the country’s recent labour reforms. The Prime Minister, however, has warned his government that he will force through changes with special emergency measures if Parliament failed to act.

Italy’s unemployment rate was 12.5% in the second quarter, with youth unemployment above 40%.

Adecco’s business in Italy grew by +18% in the second quarter and continued “to hold up” in the first two months of the third quarter, Mr De Maeseneire said.