Istat: Employment remains stable in July. Unemployment falls (5.8 per cent)
A labour market that has remained largely stagnant. Mixed signals for women and young people. An increase of 307,000 people in employment over the past year.
Key points
A broadly stable labour market. In July, the number of people in work – 24,370,000 – remained stable compared with the previous month. This stability in employment figures is the result of an increase among men, permanent employees, the self-employed and those aged 35–49, offset by a decrease among women, fixed-term employees and all other age groups. The employment rate remained unchanged at 63.2 per cent.
Unemployment on the decline
The fall in the number of jobseekers (-1.1 per cent, equivalent to -17,000) affects men and all age groups with the exception of 35–49-year-olds, amongst whom – as is the case for women – the number of unemployed is rising. The unemployment rate has fallen to 5.8 per cent (-0.1 percentage points), whilst the youth unemployment rate has risen to 18.9 per cent (+0.2 percentage points).
A decline even for those not in work
The decline in the number of economically inactive people aged between 15 and 64 (-0.1 per cent, equivalent to -17,000) applies only to men and those aged 35–49; in the other age groups, the number of economically inactive people is rising, whilst among women it remains essentially stable. The inactivity rate remains unchanged at 32.8 per cent.
Year-on-year increase of 307,000 in employment
Looking at the year as a whole, the growth in employment compared with July 2025 (an increase of 307,000 in the number of people in work over the course of a year) is the result of an increase in the number of permanent employees (up by 303,000) and self-employed people (up by 85,000), combined with a decrease in the number of fixed-term employees (down by 82,000).
