Lorenzo Macchi
Research expert covering society, economy, and politics for Italy
Government employment in Italy - Statistics & Facts
Government employment accounts for around 13 percent of the total Italian employment. Compared to other OECD countries, the general government employment as a percentage of the total employment in Italy is below the average, which stands at approximately 18 percent. This workforce is mainly older and male, especially in higher positions. In 2019, only two percent of the central government workforce was between 18 and 34 years old. In the same year, around 19 percent of the central government employees among OECD countries were in this age group. The central government workforce is mostly male, especially in leadership positions. In 2019, only 34 percent of senior positions and 43 percent of middle management roles were occupied by women.
Public administration workforce
Over three million people work for the Italian public administration. Women represent the majority of PA employees, but tend not to be in leading positions. In fact, in all sectors but law, female employees are the majority. The largest sector based on employment is in education and research, which makes up 38 percent of the total government employment. Public health accounted for 20 percent of all public employees, ranking second in terms of personnel. Consequently, the largest expenditures on salary is allocated to education and research and health. In total, gross salaries payed to PA employees cost 113.7 billion euros in 2019. In Italy, public administration employees enjoy various monetary and non-monetary benefits. Among the most common non-monetary benefits are meal vouchers, canteens, and clothing.Employees in remote work
After almost two years of encouraged hybrid or remote due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, in October 2021 employees in public administration were asked to return to the office. As of April 2021, around 38 percent of employees of the PA were working remotely. This policy has had both positive and negative aspects for all workers. The positive sides of home office in Italian public administration varied based on how prepared the entities were. Overall, the most common benefit was the improvement in digital skills. On the other hand, among the most common issues were difficulties in keeping a balance between professional and private life, as well as disparities in the work load among the employees. In addition, administrations which did not organize any remote work before experienced more problems with data security.
