Brussels, January 26 - In Italy "there is now empirical evidence that the economy is not only in recovery but of better quality, with the intensity of work increased, and permanent job contracts increased improving the trust of the workers," Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan told the European Parliament's labour committee Tuesday. The upsurge is due to government's economic strategy that through the Jobs Act labour reform "has changed the labour market radically with incentives for hiring people permanently in the context of continued budget consolidation, the deficit falling and debt falling as of 2016 after increasing for many years," he said. "In Italy's case it is important to persist with the reforms agenda that, the evidence shows, work better in a growth-oriented macroeconomic context," Padoan said.