A novel published free on the Internet has become a surprise hit in Italy, downloaded by thousands of young people who identify with the main character struggling to survive on a monthly salary of 1000 euros.

You’re young, you speak several languages, you have one or more degrees and you want to get ahead in life. Not just in France, but especially in Spain and Italy, this gets more difficult by the day. Hardworking highly educated people in their twenties and thirties, generation ‘Low Cost’, can’t afford a house, a family and fun things to do. They get stranded in low paid and temporary jobs. They feel like disposable commodities.

Claudio doesn’t buy newspapers because he can’t afford the € 30,- a month. Rita can’t buy a bed. Carolina doesn’t eat something decent today, as her food budget is gone. These young Italians and Spanish are nevertheless not people fresh out of university, or students on a budget. Claudio is 27 years old, has a degree in economics and works for an international company. Rita is 37 and a teacher. Carolina is 27, has a university degree and works for an advertising agency.

There also is Elodie, a French woman of 24, graduated from the highly recommended Science-Po in Paris, who searched for a job for 1.5 years but could only get her hands on a few lousy paid internships.

In the South of Europe there are more and more people like Claudio, Rita and Elodie. More North in Europe, the situation is slightly less urgent, but even there the situation is getting worse. They belong to the generation between 18 and 35, the generation everyone expected would do better than the previous. The generation that had the most opportunities to get a good education.

They realise they’re better off than those without education. The future they imagined for themselves and for which they worked hard, isn’t fulfilling its promises. They are not without hope or nihilistic, but they want to be heard.

In France students protest against the ‘Contract Première Embauche’, according to which employers can fire people in the first two years without having to give a reason. These protests are a signal of something that’s been itching under the surface for much longer. The French call themselves ‘Génération Précarité’ or ‘Génération Stagiaire’. They are kept hostage in jobs that are temporary, underpaid, McJobs, … They consider it to be unacceptable that companies thrive on underpaid employees that are being replaced all the time, like disposable commodities.

Studies show that more and more French young people have a degree, but those graduated have more and more trouble finding a job. They have less means and less autonomy compared to previous generations. Now it takes 3 years before 70% of those graduating at any given moment find a job. In 1977 the difference in income between a 30 year old and a 50 year old was 17%. Right now it’s 40%.

And even though the protests are loudest in France, the situation in Italy and Spain is much more dramatic. Only 40% of Spanish between 18 and 35 with a higher education have a job their level, and unemployment in the ranks of those between 24 – 34 years with at least one degree, is 11.5 %, while the overall unemployment rate is 8%. Those that do have jobs are stuck in temporary underpaid jobs. Half of the Spanish young people have contracts that make them less than € 1000,- a month.

In Italy there’s ‘Generazione 1000 euro’. There are over 2 million employees younger than 40 earning less than € 900,- a month. The number of employees with jobs earning less than € 1000,- went from 10% in 1991 to 18% in 2002. People tend to laugh about those Italians living with ‘la mama’ forever, but fact is they can’t get a place of their own. In a period of 10 years time, the number of people over 30, still living with their parents, went from 15% to 40%. Over 17% of those over 35 still live at home. They do have jobs but are unable to afford a place of their own.

Antonio Incorvaia and Alessandro Rimassa wrote ‘Generazione 1000 euro’, a book based on their lives and that of their friends and acquaintances.

They knew many in Italy found themselves in the same situation but they were a little surprised they also got a lot of reactions from e.g. Austria and Spain. Some people feel relief, as previously they had the impression they were the only ones struggling to get by. It’s frustrating not being able to buy a house, to get a loan, to save money, to treat your girlfriend. It’s hard to make any plans, holidays are out of the question. You’re 35 and discover you have to live like a student.

Nevertheless this is not a pessimistic generation. They still hope for a better future. They want to enjoy life. They are trying to find creative ways of enjoying life. That’s why they’re also called ‘Generation Low Cost’. There still are many things ‘low cost’ in our societies. Thanks to shops like H&M and Zara they can still buy trendy cloths, low budget air lines give them the opportunity to travel once in a (long) while. It becomes a challenge. On the forum attached to the website, people are giving each other tips. Claudio and the rest of his generation have learned that smart budgeting and conscientious economic decisions does not mean you have to forgo your favorite restaurant or a mp3 player.

Generazione 1000 Euro (Italian)
Young Italians find a hero (English)
Generazione 1000 Euro (English)
Chirac to sign controversial youth jobs law (English)

(Posted previously at Newsvine)