Workplace accidents in 2025: 600,000 reports, a record number of occupational illnesses in the last 26 years. Fatalities are falling

As for occupational diseases, there were 98,312 reported cases in 2025, a sharp increase compared with 2024 (+11.3 per cent). “The 2025 figure is the highest in the last 26 years and is four times the figures recorded in 2000,” explained the president of INAIL, adding that this “steady increase, driven by the efforts of employers’ organisations and certifying doctors, does not necessarily reflect a deterioration in working conditions, but highlights the emergence of undeclared work”.

It should be noted that the reports relate to medical conditions and not to the individuals affected, who numbered 63,136 (+8.8 per cent compared with 58,038 in 2024), with an average of 1.6 claims per worker, a result of so-called ‘multiple’ claims, which are particularly common in the case of musculoskeletal disorders (70,000 cases, now accounting for three out of every four claims). Even for a single report concerning one worker, multiple case files may be opened to track the individual conditions identified.

INAIL’s 2025 financial statements show a financial surplus of over 1.74 billion euros. An economic deficit of over 3.1 billion euros is recorded, attributable mainly to the increase in the capital required to cover pensions as a result of the provisions of the decree issued by the Minister of Labour on 25 March 2025 (adoption, with effect from 1 January 2025, of the tables setting out the new capitalisation coefficients for INAIL pensions).

On the revenue side, premiums and contributions totalled 10.38 billion euros, representing a 6 per cent increase compared with 2024. Financial benefits paid to accident victims and those suffering from work-related illnesses totalled over €5.61 billion, an increase of 1.70% compared with the previous year’s final figures. The lion’s share, amounting to over €4.91 billion, was allocated to the payment of pensions. The net surplus as at 31 December 2025 stands at over €12.45 billion, with an operating surplus exceeding €53 billion.

In 2025, the review of agricultural contributions was completed, introducing, from 1 January 2026, a structural reduction of 35.8 per cent for employees and 15.4 per cent for the self-employed. As regards high-performing businesses, measures to reduce the average prevention contribution rate have rewarded 30,841 companies with a total discount of over 211 million euros.

A turning point, as D’Ascenzo pointed out, is the introduction of the ‘bonus-malus’ system authorised by Decree-Law 159/2025 for the revision of the rate fluctuation margins. With the application of the new rates for the 2026 self-assessment scheme, INAIL aimed to reward well-performing companies and avoid procedural penalties.