Lorenzo Macchi
Research expert covering society, economy, and politics for Italy
Employment in Italy - statistics & facts
Italy is the country with the lowest employment rate in Europe. In 2024, 62 percent of the Italian population aged 15 years or more had a full or part-time job, compared to 71 percent of the European Union average. However, this figure was the highest ever recorded in the country, while the unemployment rate fell to the lowest levels since at least 2018. These indicators suggest that, on the one hand, recent policies aimed at encouraging employment have had positive outcomes in stimulating the labor market and reducing joblessness, with a remarkable decline of youth unemployment, which decreased by half between 2014 and 2024. On the other, these measures have been insufficient to close the gap with other European countries, and have not mitigated crucial issues such as lower female occupation and the employment divide between the north and the south of the country. Moreover, salaries have not kept up with inflation, resulting in a progressive reduction of purchasing power. With Italy being one of the few European countries without a legal minimum salary, some have proposed that the introduction of a statutory minimum wage could mitigate the phenomenon of the working poor.
Even though employment figures show optimistic trends, job insecurity remains a major problem for Italian workers. Temporary contracts constituted 16 percent of the total work contracts in 2023. This was well above the European Union average, and the share has expanded in recent years. Non-permanent contracts typically last from six to eleven months and are widely used in the accommodation and food sector, to cover seasonal personnel shortages, and in education, where the number of temporary teachers is constantly growing.
Italian workers earn 18 euros gross per hour worked. However, significant differences exist across sectors that may cause some workers to get paid well below the average, increasing insecurity and the need to resort to income support measures. Italy is one of the few countries in Europe without a statutory minimum wage, and a large debate rose lately about the possibility of introducing one, at nine euros gross per hour. Parties advocating for the measure affirmed that the minimum wage would ensure that no worker would earn less than the poverty threshold, that it would reduce the gender pay gap and protect workers against too low wages. Instead, opposers asserted that the provision would be unnecessary as most of the collective labor agreements already prescribe a remuneration well above the proposed minimum wage, and this will eventually deteriorate trade unions’ bargaining power. Discussions in the parliament are currently frozen as the topic is not a priority in the government's agenda.
Labor market in Italy
The country is suffering from a dramatic demographic crisis, and is one of the oldest worldwide. Hence, the working age population is gradually declining, raising concerns about how to sustain the national productive network in the long term with a falling population. Nevertheless, the labor force, comprising the employed and the unemployed, has grown after the 2020 COVID-19 crisis, reaching 25.7 million people in 2024, the highest level since at least 2019. Of these, 24 million were employed, and female employment reached a recent peak, with more than 10.2 million women having a job. Another positive development of the Italian labor market is that the number of permanent employees has increased since 2022, while the number of self-employed remained stable at around five million. Manufacturing and energy supply was the economic sector that employed the largest number of workers, at 4.75 million people.Even though employment figures show optimistic trends, job insecurity remains a major problem for Italian workers. Temporary contracts constituted 16 percent of the total work contracts in 2023. This was well above the European Union average, and the share has expanded in recent years. Non-permanent contracts typically last from six to eleven months and are widely used in the accommodation and food sector, to cover seasonal personnel shortages, and in education, where the number of temporary teachers is constantly growing.
Earnings and salaries
Nominal salaries in Italy have constantly grown since 2000, reaching an average of 32,450 euros per year in 2023. However, inflation has proportionally raised, gradually eroding Italians’ purchasing power. Hence, real wages have decreased, causing a progressive impoverishment of middle and lower-class families. Salary differences are evident between men and women, as well as across the country’s regions. Female workers earned 2,300 euros less per year than their male colleagues, and employees working in south Italy had a gross yearly pay of 28,300 euros compared to those working in the north who received almost 32,000 euros.Italian workers earn 18 euros gross per hour worked. However, significant differences exist across sectors that may cause some workers to get paid well below the average, increasing insecurity and the need to resort to income support measures. Italy is one of the few countries in Europe without a statutory minimum wage, and a large debate rose lately about the possibility of introducing one, at nine euros gross per hour. Parties advocating for the measure affirmed that the minimum wage would ensure that no worker would earn less than the poverty threshold, that it would reduce the gender pay gap and protect workers against too low wages. Instead, opposers asserted that the provision would be unnecessary as most of the collective labor agreements already prescribe a remuneration well above the proposed minimum wage, and this will eventually deteriorate trade unions’ bargaining power. Discussions in the parliament are currently frozen as the topic is not a priority in the government's agenda.
