Labour, unemployment rate at 5.6% in December: lowest since 2004

In December 2025, the unemployment rate fell again, to 5.6 per cent, after having already reached its lowest level since the beginning of the historical series in 2004 in November (5.7 per cent). This was stated by Istat in its release of provisional data on the employed and unemployed. The inactivity rate rose to 33.7 per cent (33.5 per cent in November).

In the last month of 2025, the number of employed persons was 24.142 million, down from the previous month (-0.1%, or -20 thousand). The employment rate dropped to 62.5 per cent. In the year to December 2025, the number of employed persons exceeds that of December 2024 by 0.3% (+62 thousand). The employment rate is unchanged in one year.