Employment: employment figures stable in June, sharp rise in the number of unemployed (+97,000), but the number of economically inactive falls (-103,000)
Compared with the previous year, there are 131,000 more people in work, but the increase is almost entirely concentrated amongst men (+116,000) and in the over-50s age group, whilst women and young people continue to be disadvantaged
Key points
- More men and people on fixed-term contracts in employment compared with May
- There are 131,000 more people in work than in June 2025
- The rise in the number of unemployed should be viewed alongside the fall in the number of economically inactive people
- Structural weaknesses in the labour market are confirmed
In June, the number of people in work remained stable compared with May (an increase of 1,000), whilst the rise in the number of unemployed (+97,000) was accompanied by a fall in the number of economically inactive people (-103,000).
More men and people on fixed-term contracts in employment than in May
Istat’s month-on-month comparison shows that the number of people in employment has remained broadly stable at 24,310,000, but there has been a shift in the breakdown by contract type: the sharp rise of 91,000 in the number of fixed-term employees stands out; to find a similar increase, one has to go back to September 2021 (totalling 2,542,000), which is offset by a decrease of 46,000 permanent employees (totalling 16,491,000) and 44,000 self-employed workers (5,277,000). Looking at gender and age, the increase compared with May is seen among men, those aged 25–34 and those aged 50 and over, whilst there has been a decline among women, those aged 15–24 and those aged 35–49.
There are 131,000 more people in work than in June 2025
Compared with June 2025, there are 131,000 more people in employment among men, women, those aged 25–34 and those aged 50 and over (among those aged 15–24 and 35–49, however, the number of people in employment has fallen). The number of jobseekers fell by 54,000, as did the number of economically inactive people, which fell by 92,000.
The employment rate remains at 62.9 per cent (unchanged from May and up by 0.3 percentage points on June 2025), whilst the figure showing a rise in unemployment to 5.7 per cent stands out (+0.4% compared with May and -0.2% compared with June 2025), with the inactivity rate at 33.2% (-0.3% compared with May and -0.2% compared with June 2025)
The rise in the number of unemployed should be viewed alongside the fall in the number of economically inactive people
Francesco Seghezzi (Adapt) urges us to “pay attention and not to view the figure for new unemployed people as a negative one; it should be seen in conjunction with the fall in the number of economically inactive people. Some people are therefore returning to the job market but are not finding work straight away. In recent months, we have often observed the opposite phenomenon: unemployment was falling because the number of economically inactive people was rising. In June, however, the opposite is happening. More people are returning to the labour market, and this, at least initially, may lead to an increase in the number of unemployed people’.
