Young professionals are footing the bill for the generational imbalance
Incomes are lower and increasingly concentrated among the older age group. Even among women, the ratio of those under 35 to those over 55 has fallen below 1
Key points
Italia’s professional workforce is ageing and young people are footing the bill. The regular report from the Confprofessioni Observatory confirms once again, in the words of its president Marco Natali, that ‘generational change has ground to a halt” and that it is time, in the words of Minister Marina Calderone, for “a reform that helps young people to grow”. to move away from “micro” models with “macro” problems.
Key figures from the report
The ‘Report: A Comparison of Generations – Demographics and Incomes’ is unsparing across the board, starting with the ageing of the population (over 50 years, the median age has risen by 50 per cent, from 33 to 49) to those under 35 with permanent employment contracts (24 per cent of the total, but only 16 per cent among the self-employed and 15 per cent among other independent workers). The median age of professionals reaches 50 among men and 46 among women, who, although on average younger, are rapidly converging towards the older age groups.
The ratio of those under 35 to those over 55 highlights a generational turnover that was already weak in 2015 and has deteriorated further by 2025. Among men, the proportion of young people remains structurally low ; among women, the initial advantage narrows until, from 2022 onwards, it falls below the parity threshold.
As for generational differences (or privileges), in the late 1980s young self-employed people earned 20 per cent more than their older counterparts, whilst in 2022 they earn 16 per cent less. The analysis highlights a persistent generational gap: young people remain consistently below the mid-career bracket (aged 35–54), whilst seniors remain above it, with the gap in self-employment continuing to widen.
Young people at a disadvantage
“Our analyses show a systematic disadvantage for young people,” notes Ludovica Zichichi, a researcher at the Confprofessioni Observatory. Starting salaries are lower today, and the gap with older workers has tended to widen, particularly since the 2008 crisis, which disproportionately affected younger generations who had not yet established themselves in the labour market. Gender differences are intertwined with generational ones. Young women show slightly smaller gaps than young men, but only because the distribution of women’s incomes is more compressed. This is not an advantage but a sign of structural fragility.
