According to a forecast from May 2024, the unemployment rate in Italy could reach 7.5 percent by the end of the year, two percentage points less than 2021, when the COVID-19 outbreak had a disastrous impact on the labor market. The rate is then expected to drop to 7.3 percent in 2025. Weak employment situation Unemployment in Italy started increasing after the 2008 financial crisis and peaked at 12.7 percent in 2014. It mostly affected the young population. Similarly, the youth unemployment rate also increased significantly during the same period, reaching over 40 percent in 2014. Even if the figures decreased in the following years, in 2022 the rates were still particularly high in the southern regions. Indeed, the youth unemployment rate in the regions of Sicily and Campania stood at around 43 percent. COVID-19 impact on the economy The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak had a serious impact on Italy’s economy. In June 2020, most Italian respondents declared that the coronavirus pandemic had impacted or would impact their personal incomes in the future. In addition, the fear of losing the job due to the pandemic has been increasing in the country, with more than half of respondents worrying about this in July 2020.

Italy's unemployment rate reached 7.6 percent in 2023, the lowest value since 2009. Forecasts suggest that it will stabilize around 7.5 percent between 2024 and 2026. The regions with the highest unemployment rates were in the south. Campania, Calabria, and Sicily registered rates from 15.8 percent to 17.4 percent, a large difference when compared to the northern regions, as only 2.8 percent of residents in Trentino South-Tyrol were unemployed, the lowest share nationwide. Young people mostly impacted Figures about the youth unemployment rate show that the financial crisis impacted the young working population significantly. Between 2004 and 2007, the share of unemployed individuals aged 15 to 24 years was declining. Subsequently, between 2008 and 2014, the rate almost doubled. In this case, southern regions had the largest share of young people without a job. In Sicily, Campania, and Calabria, more than one third of the population aged between 15 and 24 years was unemployed in 2022. Women more often unemployed In most of the Italian regions, the share of young unemployed women was higher than those of young males. In both Campania and Sicily, 50 percent of women aged 15 to 24 years did not have a job. Sicily was the region in Italy with the highest rate of unemployed young men. In this region, 51 percent of males were unemployed, almost five times more than in Trentino-South Tyrol, where the unemployment rate of young men stood at around nine percent.

In Italy, the unemployment rate in the southern regions has been significantly higher than in the northern ones from 2020 to 2023. In 2021, the peak was reached in the north-west, center and south, due to the COVID-19 crisis. During 2023, the unemployment rate in the south was around 14 percent, more than the double compared to the north-west, where less than five percent of the people in working age were without a job.

In 2020, 52 percent of people in Italy stayed unemployed for more than a year. Furthermore, 15 percent of Italians were unemployed for six to 12 months. Only seven percent of the unemployed individuals found a new occupation within one month.

Italy - Unemployment rate: Tertiary education (levels 5-8) was 5.30% in December of 2020, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Italy - Unemployment rate: Tertiary education (levels 5-8) - last updated from the EUROSTAT on March of 2025. Historically, Italy - Unemployment rate: Tertiary education (levels 5-8) reached a record high of 7.90% in December of 2014 and a record low of 4.40% in December of 2007.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, Italy's unemployment rate stood at 9.2 percent, a slight decrease compared to the previous quarter. In the first quarter of 2019, 10.4 percent of people were unemployed, the highest figure recorded between 2019 and 2020.

In 2020, the share of unemployed people aged between 15 and 24 years was around 30 percent.

Youth Unemployment Rate in Italy increased to 19.40 percent in December from 19.20 percent in November of 2024. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Italy Youth Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Italy unemployment rate for 2023 was 7.62%, a 0.45% decline from 2022.

• Italy unemployment rate for 2022 was 8.07%, a 1.43% decline from 2021.
• Italy unemployment rate for 2021 was 9.50%, a 0.33% increase from 2020.
• Italy unemployment rate for 2020 was 9.16%, a 0.79% decline from 2019.

Italy Labour Market: Unemployment Rate data was reported at 6.900 % in Jan 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 6.200 % for Dec 2024. Italy Labour Market: Unemployment Rate data is updated monthly, averaging 8.769 % from Jan 2004 (Median) to Jan 2025, with 253 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 14.427 % in Nov 2014 and a record low of 5.200 % in Aug 2024. Italy Labour Market: Unemployment Rate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Italian National Institute of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Italy – Table IT.G035: Activity, Employment and Unemployment. [COVID-19-IMPACT]

italy - Youth Unemployment Rate for Italy was 29.75% in January of 2020, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, italy - Youth Unemployment Rate for Italy reached a record high of 42.79 in January of 2014 and a record low of 20.32 in January of 2007. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for italy - Youth Unemployment Rate for Italy - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

The Italian Labour Force Survey is the main source of statistical information on the Italian labor market. The information gathered from the population constitutes the basis on which official estimations of employment and unemployment are calculated, as well as information on the main job’s issues – occupation, sector of economic activity, hours worked, contracts’ type and duration, training. The survey data are used to analyze a number of individual, family and social factors too, such as the increasing labor mobility, changing professions, the growth in female participation, etc.., which determine the difference in labor participation of the population. This database is the result of the union of the four quarterly datasets for the year 2020. In this way, it is possible to calculate the annual estimations at the national, macro-regional and regional levels. The documentation available on this page refers to the survey conducted in the last quarter. For more information, please refer to the pages of the individual quarterly surveys of 2020: Italian Labour Force Survey – January (2020) Italian Labour Force Survey – April (2020) Italian Labour Force Survey – July (2020) Italian Labour Force Survey – October (2020) 62,678 households, 390,438 individuals. Two-stage stratified random sample Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI)

The Italian Labour Force Survey is the main source of statistical information on the Italian labor market. The information gathered from the population constitutes the basis on which official estimations of employment and unemployment are calculated, as well as information on the main job’s issues – occupation, the sector of economic activity, hours worked, contracts’ type and duration, training. The survey data are used to analyze a number of individual, family and social factors too, such as the increasing labor mobility, changing professions, the growth in female participation, etc.., which determine the difference in labor participation of the population. The questionnaire is divided into several sections. In particular, in addition to the first socio-demographic information, the first section covers the employment status during the interview’s week, dealing with questions about the type of work, hours worked, motivations about the unemployment status, the type of contract. The second section – reserved for employed people – covers the main job, investigating, in particular, the position in the profession, the industry in which he works, the company he works for, working full-time or part-time and reasons for his selection, working hours, overtime hours, shift work, job transfer, salary, job satisfaction. The third section – always reserved for employed people – concerns the secondary work (if any). It’s exclusively addressed to respondents who carry out another activity compared to the main one and only detects certain information such as the type of activity, type of contract, occupation, the economic sector he works in. The fourth section – for unemployed people – collects information about previous work experiences: last work, type of contract, occupation, economic sector, the reasons why it stopped working. The fifth section deals with the job search. It investigates the reason for seeking a job, the actions put in place to look for it, the channels used to look for and the type of work sought. The sixth section deals with employment and temp agencies and investigates their use by the respondents: the number of contacts, the reason for contact, services required. The seventh section covers education and vocational education. It deals with the training courses respondents are attending. The last section focuses on the auto-perception of their employment status, compared to the previous year. 97,156 individuals, 44,666 families. Two-stage stratified random sample Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI)

In the second quarter of 2020, the number of requests for unemployment benefits in Italy increased by 22 percent compared to the same period of 2019. The Central regions of Lazio and Marche recorded the highest growths, where the amount of applications rose to about 38 percent and 36 percent more compared to the second quarter of 2019.

Since March 2020, the Italian government has imposed a ban on layoffs of employees on companies for economic reasons. The measure has been implemented to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the job market.

The Italian Labour Force Survey is the main source of statistical information on the Italian labor market. The information gathered from the population constitutes the basis on which official estimations of employment and unemployment are calculated, as well as information on the main job’s issues – occupation, the sector of economic activity, hours worked, contracts’ type and duration, training. The survey data are used to analyze a number of individual, family and social factors too, such as the increasing labor mobility, changing professions, the growth in female participation, etc.., which determine the difference in labor participation of the population. The questionnaire is divided into several sections. In particular, in addition to the first socio-demographic information, the first section covers the employment status during the interview’s week, dealing with questions about the type of work, hours worked, motivations about the unemployment status, the type of contract. The second section – reserved for employed people – covers the main job, investigating, in particular, the position in the profession, the industry in which he works, the company he works for, working full-time or part-time and reasons for his selection, working hours, overtime hours, shift work, job transfer, salary, job satisfaction. The third section – always reserved for employed people – concerns the secondary work (if any). It’s exclusively addressed to respondents who carry out another activity compared to the main one and only detects certain information such as the type of activity, type of contract, occupation, the economic sector he works in. The fourth section – for unemployed people – collects information about previous work experiences: last work, type of contract, occupation, economic sector, the reasons why it stopped working. The fifth section deals with the job search. It investigates the reason for seeking a job, the actions put in place to look for it, the channels used to look for and the type of work sought. The sixth section deals with employment and temp agencies and investigates their use by the respondents: the number of contacts, the reason for contact, services required. The seventh section covers education and vocational education. It deals with the training courses respondents are attending. The last section focuses on the auto-perception of their employment status, compared to the previous year.

The Italian Labour Force Survey is the main source of statistical information on the Italian labor market. The information gathered from the population constitutes the basis on which official estimations of employment and unemployment are calculated, as well as information on the main job’s issues – occupation, the sector of economic activity, hours worked, contracts’ type and duration, training. The survey data are used to analyze a number of individual, family and social factors too, such as the increasing labor mobility, changing professions, the growth in female participation, etc.., which determine the difference in labor participation of the population. The questionnaire is divided into several sections. In particular, in addition to the first socio-demographic information, the first section covers the employment status during the interview’s week, dealing with questions about the type of work, hours worked, motivations about the unemployment status, the type of contract. The second section – reserved for employed people – covers the main job, investigating, in particular, the position in the profession, the industry in which he works, the company he works for, working full-time or part-time and reasons for his selection, working hours, overtime hours, shift work, job transfer, salary, job satisfaction. The third section – always reserved for employed people – concerns the secondary work (if any). It’s exclusively addressed to respondents who carry out another activity compared to the main one and only detects certain information such as the type of activity, type of contract, occupation, the economic sector he works in. The fourth section – for unemployed people – collects information about previous work experiences: last work, type of contract, occupation, economic sector, the reasons why it stopped working. The fifth section deals with the job search. It investigates the reason for seeking a job, the actions put in place to look for it, the channels used to look for and the type of work sought. The sixth section deals with employment and temp agencies and investigates their use by the respondents: the number of contacts, the reason for contact, services required. The seventh section covers education and vocational education. It deals with the training courses respondents are attending. The last section focuses on the auto-perception of their employment status, compared to the previous year.

The Italian Labour Force Survey is the main source of statistical information on the Italian labor market. The information gathered from the population constitutes the basis on which official estimations of employment and unemployment are calculated, as well as information on the main job’s issues – occupation, the sector of economic activity, hours worked, contracts’ type and duration, training. The survey data are used to analyze a number of individual, family and social factors too, such as the increasing labor mobility, changing professions, the growth in female participation, etc.., which determine the difference in labor participation of the population. The questionnaire is divided into several sections. In particular, in addition to the first socio-demographic information, the first section covers the employment status during the interview’s week, dealing with questions about the type of work, hours worked, motivations about the unemployment status, the type of contract. The second section – reserved for employed people – covers the main job, investigating, in particular, the position in the profession, the industry in which he works, the company he works for, working full-time or part-time and reasons for his selection, working hours, overtime hours, shift work, job transfer, salary, job satisfaction. The third section – always reserved for employed people – concerns the secondary work (if any). It’s exclusively addressed to respondents who carry out another activity compared to the main one and only detects certain information such as the type of activity, type of contract, occupation, the economic sector he works in. The fourth section – for unemployed people – collects information about previous work experiences: last work, type of contract, occupation, economic sector, the reasons why it stopped working. The fifth section deals with the job search. It investigates the reason for seeking a job, the actions put in place to look for it, the channels used to look for and the type of work sought. The sixth section deals with employment and temp agencies and investigates their use by the respondents: the number of contacts, the reason for contact, services required. The seventh section covers education and vocational education. It deals with the training courses respondents are attending. The last section focuses on the auto-perception of their employment status, compared to the previous year. 98,622 individuals, 45,826 families. Two-stage stratified random sample Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI)

Italy Labour Market: Inactivity Rate: sa: Age: 15-64: Male data was reported at 23.606 % in Jan 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 24.408 % for Dec 2024. Italy Labour Market: Inactivity Rate: sa: Age: 15-64: Male data is updated monthly, averaging 25.919 % from Jan 2004 (Median) to Jan 2025, with 253 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 28.500 % in Apr 2020 and a record low of 23.606 % in Jan 2025. Italy Labour Market: Inactivity Rate: sa: Age: 15-64: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Italian National Institute of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Italy – Table IT.G035: Activity, Employment and Unemployment.

Between 2018 and 2024, the unemployment rate in Italy slightly decreased. As of July 2024, the rate stood at 6.5 percent, reaching the lowest figure since at least 2008. However, regional differences existed within the country. In 2023, seven southern Italian regions recorded the highest unemployment rates nationwide. In particular, Campania, Calabria, and Sicily registered the largest unemployed population. On the contrary, most of the regions recording the lowest unemployment rates were in the north. In Lombardy, the share of unemployed people was only four percent. Unemployment mostly affects young people Nationwide, the youth unemployment rate for the last quarter of 2023 was 24 percent, one of the highest rates in Europe. Southern regions also registered the highest unemployment rates among the young population. In 2022, more than two fifths of the people in Sicily and Campania aged between 15 and 24 years were unemployed, while in Calabria, Apulia, and Molise, around 30 percent of the youth were out of work. Many young adults living with their parents  A consequence of the country's high unemployment rate could be seen in the percentages of young adults living with their parents. In 2022, more than 70 percent of young men were living with their parents, whereas the share of young women was slightly lower. In Europe, most young adults often stay with their parents in areas affected by the financial crisis. High unemployment, low wages for career starters, and lack of financial resources, impact this lifestyle choice of many young Italians.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, the number of unemployed people in Italy slightly increased compared to the previous two quarters. The number of unemployed women added up to roughly one million, whereas the number of men was slightly higher.

Between 2019 and 2020, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits decreased by 3.5 percent. In 2020, almost 2.7 million people received unemployment benefits.

In the first half of 2020, the number of requests for unemployment benefits in Italy increased compared to the same period of 2019. Nevertheless, since March 2020 the Italian government has imposed to companies a ban on layoffs of employees for economic reasons. The measure has been implemented to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the job market.