Italy Employment Climbs Strongly as Unemployment Falls to Multi-Year Low

Italy’s labour market strengthened further in April 2026 as employment rose and unemployment continued to decline across most age groups. Preliminary data from Istat showed the number of employed people increased by 123,000 from March, pushing the employment rate up to 63.1%. The monthly rise in jobs affected men, women, and nearly all age groups except workers aged 35 to 49, where employment remained largely unchanged. The number of unemployed people fell by 18,000 in April, lowering the unemployment rate to 5.1%, while youth unemployment dropped sharply to 16.9%. Inactive people aged 15 to 64 also declined by 102,000, reducing the inactivity rate to 33.4%. Compared with April 2025, employment increased by 269,000, while unemployment dropped by 260,000. Quarterly data also showed employment grew by 108,000 between February and April 2026 compared with the previous three-month period.