Labour market situation in Italy

The 2024 National Institute of Statistics Annual Report, highlights that:

• Wage growth has been modest in the past decade, with real wages declining due to inflation. Italian workers experienced the largest real wage drop in Europe from 2021 to 2023 (-6.4%).

• The proportion of workers in low-paid jobs remains high, particularly among women, young people and non-EU migrants. Factors include short contract durations and reduced working hours.

• Educational levels have improved, but Italy still lags behind other EU countries in tertiary education attainment, particularly in STEM fields. Over 34% of graduates are employed in positions that do not match their qualifications (mismatch).

• Participation in training remains one of the lowest rates in Europe, with only 18.7% of the unemployed engaging in formal training activities.

• The risk of in-work poverty is higher in Italy than in most EU countries, affecting 11.5% of workers in 2022, particularly part-time and fixed-term workers, as well as non-EU migrants.

According to the Youth 2024: report of a generation by Eures (Economic and Social Research), the employment rate for young people (aged 15–34), which is the focus of this analysis, stood at 45% in 2023 (with a gap of 16.5 percentage points over the total value of occupation). By further dissecting the data, it is clear that the aggregate result of the under 35 was negatively affected by the younger subgroup (the 15–24 age range), whose employment rate was 20.4%, whereas in the 25–34 age group, it reached 68.1%, surpassing by 6.6 percentage points the value of the index of the entire population. 

Table 1 – Employment Rate by Age Group in Italy, 2019–2023 (% values)

Source: Eures (Economic and Social Research) elaboration on Istat data

The 2023 data from Eurostat show that Italy ranked last among the main European countries in terms of youth employment rate (ages 15–29), with an index of 34.7% compared to the EU average of 49.7%. Italy’s value was even lower than that of Greece (35%). More specifically, in line with previous observations, Italy recorded a higher employment rate than Greece for males (39.7% vs. 38.4%), while the opposite was true for females (29.3% vs. 31.4%).

The breakdown by gender also confirms that Italy's gap from the European average was even greater for the female component, where the youth employment rate (15–29 years) stood at 29.3%, compared to 39.7% for men. 

Table 2 – Employment Rate by age group and gender in Italy, Comparison 2019–2023 (% values)

Source: Eures (Economic and Social Research) elaboration on Istat data

In 2023, the female employment rate for the 15–34 age group stood at 38.6% while the corresponding male rate reached 51%.

From a territorial perspective, the data confirm the structural disadvantage of the southern regions compared to those in the Centre and, especially, the North.
In 2023, the youth employment rate (ages 15–34) in southern regions stood at 33.1%, with  a gap of 14.2 percentage points compared to the Centre (47.3%) and more than 20 percentage points from the northern regions, where it reached 53.4%.

Table 3 – Employment Rate by age group and geographical macro-area, Comparison 2019–2023 (% values)

Source: Eures (Economic and Social Research) elaboration on Istat data

Finally, according to Istat, in 2023, the rate of young people aged 15 to 29 who were not in employment, education or training (the so-called NEETs) was estimated at 16.1%, and was higher among females (17.8%) than among males (14.4%). 

Main concepts

The Italian Constitution, through several articles, defines the role of the State in matters of employment and establishes its fundamental principles. 

According to art. 1 of the Constitution “Italy is a democratic Republic founded on labour. Sovereignty belongs to the people and is exercised by the people in the forms and within the limits of the Constitution”. 

Article 4 of the Constitution states that “the Republic recognises the right of all citizens to work and promotes those conditions which render this right effective. Every citizen has the duty, according to personal potential and individual choice, to perform an activity or a function that contributes to the material or spiritual progress of society”. 

According to art. 35 “The Republic protects work in all its forms and practices. It provides for the training and professional advancement of workers. It promotes and encourages international agreements and organisations which have the aim of establishing and regulating labour rights. It recognises the freedom to emigrate, subject to the obligations set out by law in the general interest and protects Italian workers abroad”. 

According to art. 36 “Workers have the right to a remuneration commensurate to the quantity and quality of their work and in any case such as to ensure them and their families a free and dignified existence. Maximum daily working hours are established by law. Workers have the right to a weekly rest day and paid annual holidays. They cannot waive this right”. 

Article 37 of the Constitution states that “Working women are entitled to equal rights and, for comparable jobs, equal pay as men. Working conditions must allow women to fulfil their essential role in the family and ensure appropriate protection for the mother and child. The law establishes the minimum age for paid labour. The Republic protects the work of minors by means of special provisions and guarantees them the right to equal pay for equal work”.