Istat, employment rises to 62.5% in 2025, unemployment down to 6.1%

On average in 2025, the increase in the number of employed, equal to 185 thousand (+0.8% in one year), is associated with a reduction in both the unemployed (-88 thousand, -5.3%) and the inactive 15-64 years old (-58 thousand, -0.5%). The employment rate 15-64 years old rose to 62.5% (+0.3 points in one year) and the unemployment rate (6.1%, -0.4 points) and inactivity rate 15-64 years old (33.3%, -0.1 points) fell. This was announced by Istat.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, the number of employed people, which stood at 24,121,000, increased on a cyclical basis (+37,000, +0.2% on the third quarter of 2025), as a result of a growth in permanent employees (+76,000, +0.5%) and the self-employed (+21,000, +0.4%) that was more marked than the drop in fixed-term employees (-60,000, -2.4%); the number of unemployed people decreased (-84,000, -5.5% in three months) and the number of inactive people aged 15-64 increased (+61,000, +0.5%). Net of seasonal effects, Istat explains, the employment rate is stable at 62.5%, the unemployment rate drops to 5.6% (-0.3 points) and the inactivity rate rises to 33.7% (+0.2 points). In the provisional data for January 2026, compared to the previous month, the increase in the number of employed (+0.3%) and in the relative rate (+0.2 points) is associated with the decrease in the unemployment rate (-0.4 points) and the increase in the inactivity rate 15-64 years old (+0.1 points).

In the tendential comparison, after a stable quarter, the number of employed people rose again (+89 thousand, +0.4%); the increase in permanent employees (+1.0%) and of the self-employed (+3.0%) more than compensated for the decrease in fixed-term employees (-8.6%). In the fourth quarter of 2025, after the slight increase in the previous quarter, the number of unemployed people decreased (-138 thousand, -8.9% in one year) and, after three quarters of decline, the number of inactive people between 15 and 64 years of age increased (+49 thousand, +0.4%). The employment rate rose to 62.4% (+0.1 points), the unemployment rate fell to 5.5% (-0.5 points) and the inactivity rate reached 33.9% (+0.2 points).

In the fourth quarter of 2025, after three quarters of decline, the number of inactive persons aged 15-64 rose again to 12,574,000 (+49,000, +0.4%); the increase mainly involved the potential labour force (+27,000, +1.4%) - i.e. the component of inactive persons closest to the labour market - and, more slightly, those who are neither looking for work nor available to start it (+22,000, +0.2%). The inactivity rate rose to 33.9% (+0.2 points), with an increase concentrated among men, individuals up to 49 years of age and in the South not offset by the decrease for women, the over 50s and in the Centre.

The employment rate increased at a sustained pace for 50-64 year olds (+1.6 points) and slightly for 35-49 year olds (+0.1 points), while for the fifth consecutive quarter it decreased for 15-34 year olds (-1.3 points), especially for 15-24 year olds (-2.0 points compared to -0.5 points for 25-34 year olds). The unemployment rate decreases for all age groups (-0.6 points for 15-34 year-olds, -0.5 for 35-49 year-olds and -0.3 points for 50-74 year-olds); the inactivity rate increases for young people (+2.6 points among 15-24 year-olds and +1.0 points among 25-34 year-olds) and, with less intensity, in the 35-49 year-old class (+0.3 points) while it decreases among 50-64 year-olds (-1.5 points). The employment rate rises by 0.4 points for those with a tertiary qualification, settling at 82.6%, and with less intensity for those with no more than a middle school diploma (+0.2 points), for whom it is also much lower (45.6%); for high school graduates, on the other hand, the indicator decreases by 0.4 points, settling at 66.9%. The unemployment rate falls for all levels of education with decreasing intensity as the educational qualification increases (-0.8 points for low educational qualifications, -0.5 for high school graduates and -0.2 points for graduates); the inactivity rate increases for those with no more than a middle school diploma and for high school graduates (+0.2 and +0.8 points) and falls for graduates (-0.3 points).