Record 24.3 Million in Employment in Italy – Istat

Rome: The number of people in employment in Italy in May rose to 24.3 million, the highest level on record since the start of the statistical series in 2004, according to provisional data released by Istat on Wednesday.

According to Ansa News Agency, the national statistics agency reported that the number of people in work was almost 1.3 million higher than the pre-COVID period of January 2020. The employment figures showed an increase of 80,000 (0.3%) compared to April and a rise of 408,000 (1.7%) compared to May 2024.

Istat highlighted that the employment rate increased by 0.2 of a percentage point to 62.9% in May 2025. The agency also noted a rise in the number of unemployed people, while those not actively participating in the labor market decreased.

The data indicated that the number of unemployed individuals was 1.691 million, an increase of 113,000 compared to April, which raised the jobless rate by 0.4 of a point to 6.5%. This figure also represented an increase of 15,000 compared to May 2024. The
youth unemployment rate saw a rise of 1.7 points to 21.6%.

Additionally, Istat reported that the number of inactive people aged between 15 and 64 decreased by 172,000 from April, bringing the total to 12.119 million. This reduction contributed to a record low inactivity rate of 32.6%, down by half a point.