Online job ads in Italy: a regional analysis of ICT professionals

In European countries, there is a growing interest in integrating traditional statistical sources on the labour market with online job ads. They offer detailed and timely information on the use of the Internet for recruiting and the specific skills required at different levels (particularly at a territorial and sectoral level). In this context, this paper proposes an analysis of the similarity between the Italian regions regarding required skills by employers. The study looks at a specific group of innovation-related occupations, ICT professionals, that are believed to be sufficiently represented by online data. The results highlight a regional gap in the use of online offers and differences in professional profiles regarding required skills. Finally, regional skill similarities are compared with some regional features related to the labour market and training.