Forecast: Oice, 2025 turnover of member companies at 4.6 billion (+6.1%)
Forecasts for 2026: turnover of 4.7 billion, representing a 1.6 per cent increase
Key points
During 2025, the turnover of engineering and architecture firms affiliated with Oice (a trade association affiliated with Confindustria) stood at 4.6 billion, representing an increase of 6.1% compared with 2024, whilst turnover of 4.7 billion is expected for the current year, representing an increase of 1.6%. This is according to the 42nd Oice/Cer Survey on the performance of engineering and architecture firms belonging to the association.
The workforce and staff shortages
In 2025, the number of people employed by companies stood at 37,459 (+7.9% on 2024) and in 2026 it will reach 39,000 (+4.1%). The proportion of companies stating their intention to increase staff numbers during the year has fallen compared with last year (from 50 per cent to 46.9 per cent), a goal which, however, continues to be hampered by difficulties in recruiting new staff, as reported by 72.2% of respondents, with a peak of around 76% for companies with fewer than 26 employees.
A quarter of production comes from abroad
25 per cent of production comes from overseas markets, whilst the domestic market accounts for 75 per cent of total production in 2025. These figures are expected to remain stable in the 2026 forecasts.
The impact of the NRRP
Over the three-year period 2024–2026, the share of production linked to the NRRP is set to rise, from 23.8 per cent in 2024 to 25.0 per cent in 2025, before falling to 17.5 per cent in 2026. ‘This figure,’ it is emphasised, ‘unequivocally shows how activities linked to the NRRP are accounting for a significant proportion of member companies’ business, partly offsetting the loss of building incentives.’
The impact of geopolitics
With regard to macroeconomic risks, OICE member companies report that they have low exposure to the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine, rising energy prices and high inflation.
