Govt determined to address declining birth rate says Meloni

(ANSA) - ROME, APR 18 - Premier Giorgia Meloni said Tuesday that her government was determined to take action to boost Italy's birth rate, which reached a new record low last year, and to increase the number of working women to help resolve shortages on the labour market.
    "There are more and more people to maintain in Italy and fewer and fewer people who are working," Meloni said as she arrived at the Milan Furniture Fair (Salone del Mobile).
    "This problem can be solved in several ways.
    "The government's way is not just to solve it with migrants, but also with the great unused reserve of female labour, bringing it (the proportion of Italian women in employment) up to the European average, and by focusing on demographics, with incentives for families to bring children into the world".
    National statistics agency Istat said earlier this month that there were less than seven births for every 1,000 inhabitants in Italy in 2022 and more than 12 deaths.
    Last year, births fell below the 400,000 mark for the first time since the unification of Italy, standing at 393,000. (ANSA).