Italy’s employment hits all-time high in May, says Istat

Employment in Italy rose in May 2025, reaching 24.3 million workers — the highest level since records began in 2004 — according to preliminary data from Istat.

The monthly increase was driven by a rise in permanent employees (16.42 million) and the self-employed (5.22 million), while temporary contracts dropped to 2.66 million.

Compared to May 2024, employment grew by 408,000, as a result of significant gains in permanent positions (+388,000) and self-employment (+175,000), offsetting a sharp decline in temporary jobs (-155,000).

Key indicators also moved:

1. Employment rate rose to 62.9%
2. Unemployment rate increased slightly to 6.5%
3. Inactivity rate dropped to 32.6%

The number of job seekers increased by 0.9% year-on-year (+15,000), while inactive individuals aged 15–64 decreased by 320,000 (-2.6%). Istat notes that the current employment level stands nearly 1.3 million above the pre-pandemic figure from January 2020.