Defence industry: job vacancies in Italy have risen by 12 per cent over six years
This picture is painted by Indeed, a global recruitment platform, based on its experience
Key points
Against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical tensions, European governments have significantly increased their defence spending. One consequence of this is that, in recent years, the number of job vacancies posted on Indeed by leading European defence companies has remained consistently high. In contrast, the labour market as a whole has continued to contract, falling 15% below 2021 levels. This picture is painted by Indeed, a global recruitment platform, based on its own data.
France accounts for the largest share of job vacancies in the sector in Europe (33% on average between January and April 2026). However, this share has fallen in recent years (it stood at 55% in 2020), with other countries such as Italia gaining ground (rising from 1% in 2020 to 13% between January and April 2026). Germany and the United Kingdom, on the other hand, each accounted for a relatively stable 20% of European vacancies over the entire period under review.
Defence companies are looking for specialists in IT, manufacturing and engineering
Job vacancies reflect the needs of high-tech industrial companies. Between January and April 2026, positions related to software development topped the list (14.7 per cent), whilst a virtually identical proportion (14.6 per cent) related to roles in production, engineering and mechanics. Next come engineering roles (11.5%).
Interest from candidates is also growing
The rise in recruitment within the defence sector has gone hand in hand with growing interest from candidates in many markets. France recorded the highest proportion of searches for defence companies and related terms, accounting for over 0.14% of all searches carried out on Indeed’s French portal in April 2026. Germany follows with 0.07%, whilst Italia, which has seen significant growth over the last two years, stands at 0.06%. Interest among UK candidates has remained stable during this period (0.03% in April 2026).
