Wages: Italia slips down the EU rankings – we’re in 13th place (even Spain and Slovenia are ahead of us)

In terms of gross annual earnings, Italia continues to fall behind other European countries. Wage growth over the last four years – that is, from 2022 to 2025 – driven by collective agreement renewals, has occurred at a slower pace than in our European partner countries, ultimately widening the gap.

This is revealed by a Eurostat study comparing the gross annual full-time equivalent earnings of the 27 EU countries: whilst in 2022 Italia ranked tenth with an average of 31,849 euros – 3,822 compared to the average for the 27 countries, which stood at 35,671 euros, the gap widened over the following three years, despite growth in nominal wages, which in 2023 reached an average of 32,626 euros in Italy. Elsewhere, however, growth was more substantial, reaching an average of €37,879 across the 27 EU countries, resulting in a gap of €5,253. We have thus slipped from tenth to eleventh place.

The same trend was also recorded in 2024. In Italy, the average full-time equivalent gross annual salary was 33,385 euros, compared with the EU average of 39,773 euros. The result? The gap, to Italia’s detriment, widened further: €6,388, and we plummeted to thirteenth place. A ranking, to use a term from the world of sport, which remained unchanged in 2025. Here, gross salaries rose, on average, to €34,213. Across the 27 EU countries, the increase was far greater, reaching €41,464, resulting in a gap of over 7,000 euros (€7,251 to be precise); a performance that leaves us in 13th place. In short, we are in the middle of the table, overtaken even by Spain (€35,125), Slovenia (€37,586) and Malta (€35,003); and light years away from the top-ranked countries: Luxembourg (€85,609), in first place overall, followed by Denmark (€73,500) and Ireland (€64,387). Our wages are also lower than those of our competitor countries in 2025: Germany (€56,350) and France (€44,734).

The point is that, here, gross annual earnings have risen only slightly: from 31,849 euros in 2022 to 34,213 in 2025 (+2,364 euros); in contrast to the EU average, which rose from €35,671 to €41,464 – an increase more than double that of ours (+€5,793).

There are several reasons behind this gradual decline in living standards. “Delays in contract renewals have penalised Italian workers,” emphasised Andrea Garnero, an economist at the OECD. “ In countries where negotiations were concluded more promptly, or where solutions were found to safeguard purchasing power, wages recovered sooner. I am thinking of the agreements between the social partners in Spain and Portugal, which set benchmark increases for several years, or the one-off payments in Germany. In Italia, many contracts remained expired for a long time and subsequent renewals granted increases below the rate of inflation, with few exceptions such as the metalworkers and bank employees.” There is also a composition effect: “Employment,” added Garnero, “has grown significantly, but largely in low value-added services with lower wages, and this drags the average down.”