Italian Workers at Risk During the COVID-19 Epidemic

Abstract

We analyze the task-content of occupations operating in about 600 sectors of the economy with a focus on the dimensions that expose workers to contagion risks during the COVID-19 epidemic. We do so in the Italian context, leveraging extremely detailed and granular information from ICP, the Italian equivalent of O*Net (the survey that describes the task content of US occupations). We find that several sectors need physical proximity to operate, mainly in services and retail trade. Workers at risk of complications from COVID-19 (mainly males above the age of 50) are concentrated in sectors characterized by little physical proximity or where working from home is feasible. We then study the sectoral lockdowns put in place by the Italian Government in March 2020. We find that governmental restrictions hit the sectors where the risk of contagion in the workplace was more widespread: the effect is stronger for proximity to the public than that with co-workers. The share of workers who have the possibility to work from home is higher in sectors that were not forced to close. The evidence we provide is useful to identify which activities pose larger risks for contagion among workers in the workplace and where to reinforce safety measures.