{"version":1,"asset_type":"statistical_series","data_type":"time_series","slug":"it-employment-rate","url":"https://apiardata.com/statistics/it-employment-rate","html_url":"https://apiardata.com/statistics/it-employment-rate/","title":"Italy Employment Rate (2024)","description":"Italy's Employment Rate: 67.1 % of population (20–64) in 2024, +0.8pp YoY. Eurostat (LFSA_ERGAN), 2005–2024.","domain":"labor","category":"Labour & Employment","keywords":["Labour & Employment","Eurostat","European Union","2024"],"publisher":"Eurostat","frequency":"Annual","geography":"Italy","temporal_coverage":"2005/2024","unit":"% of population (20–64)","last_updated":"2026-04-14","last_updated_text":"14 April 2026","data_as_of":"2024","variable_measured":"Italy Employment Rate","license":"https://apiardata.com/data-license","is_accessible_for_free":true,"sources":[{"name":"Eurostat","url":"https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/LFSA_ERGAN/default/table"}],"meta":[{"label":"Frequency","value":"Annual"},{"label":"Coverage","value":"2005–2024"},{"label":"Observations","value":"20"},{"label":"Geography","value":"Italy"},{"label":"Last updated","value":"14 April 2026"}],"kpis":[{"label":"Italy (2024)","value":"67.1","unit":"% of population (20–64)","trend":{"direction":"up","value":"+0.8pp YoY"}},{"label":"YoY Change","value":"+0.8pp","unit":"percentage points"},{"label":"Trend","value":"up","unit":""},{"label":"Series length","value":"20","unit":"years of data"}],"series":[{"key":"value","label":"Italy Employment Rate"}],"observation_count":20,"observations":[{"period":"2005","value":61.5},{"period":"2006","value":62.4},{"period":"2007","value":62.7},{"period":"2008","value":62.9},{"period":"2009","value":61.6},{"period":"2010","value":61},{"period":"2011","value":61},{"period":"2012","value":60.9},{"period":"2013","value":59.7},{"period":"2014","value":59.9},{"period":"2015","value":60.5},{"period":"2016","value":61.6},{"period":"2017","value":62.3},{"period":"2018","value":63},{"period":"2019","value":63.6},{"period":"2020","value":62.5},{"period":"2021","value":62.7},{"period":"2022","value":64.8},{"period":"2023","value":66.3},{"period":"2024","value":67.1}],"table":{"columns":[{"key":"year","label":"Year"},{"key":"value","label":"% of population (20–64)"},{"key":"yoyChange","label":"YoY Change"}],"rows":[{"year":"2024","value":"67.1","yoyChange":"+0.8pp"},{"year":"2023","value":"66.3","yoyChange":"+1.5pp"},{"year":"2022","value":"64.8","yoyChange":"+2.1pp"},{"year":"2021","value":"62.7","yoyChange":"+0.2pp"},{"year":"2020","value":"62.5","yoyChange":"-1.1pp"},{"year":"2019","value":"63.6","yoyChange":"+0.6pp"},{"year":"2018","value":"63.0","yoyChange":"+0.7pp"},{"year":"2017","value":"62.3","yoyChange":"+0.7pp"},{"year":"2016","value":"61.6","yoyChange":"+1.1pp"},{"year":"2015","value":"60.5","yoyChange":"+0.6pp"},{"year":"2014","value":"59.9","yoyChange":"+0.2pp"},{"year":"2013","value":"59.7","yoyChange":"-1.2pp"},{"year":"2012","value":"60.9","yoyChange":"-0.1pp"},{"year":"2011","value":"61.0","yoyChange":"unchanged"},{"year":"2010","value":"61.0","yoyChange":"-0.6pp"},{"year":"2009","value":"61.6","yoyChange":"-1.3pp"},{"year":"2008","value":"62.9","yoyChange":"+0.2pp"},{"year":"2007","value":"62.7","yoyChange":"+0.3pp"},{"year":"2006","value":"62.4","yoyChange":"+0.9pp"},{"year":"2005","value":"61.5","yoyChange":"n/a"}]},"qa":[{"question":"What does the Italy employment rate measure and why is it so low?","answer":"Eurostat's Italy employment rate measures the share of persons aged 20–64 in employment, compiled annually from the EU Labour Force Survey (dataset LFSA_ERGAN). At 67.1% in 2024 — the highest in the series but the lowest among major EU economies — Italy's rate is 10 percentage points below Germany (81.3%) and 11 points below the EU's 2030 target of 78%. The gap is primarily explained by high structural inactivity, not by unemployment: a large share of Italy's working-age population — particularly women and workers in the Mezzogiorno — are neither employed nor seeking employment, placing them outside the active population entirely."},{"question":"Why is Italy's female employment rate so much lower than the EU average?","answer":"Italy's female employment rate is structurally among the lowest in the EU, pulling the gender-averaged rate well below Germany's and France's. The drivers are well-documented: limited and costly childcare provision outside major northern cities forces many women to exit the labour force after childbirth; cultural norms, particularly in southern regions, continue to associate primary caregiving with women; and Italy's tax system has historically penalised dual-earner couples through household income aggregation rules. The PNRR allocates funding to childcare expansion, which may incrementally improve female participation over 2022–2026, but structural change in this dimension has been historically slow."},{"question":"What does Italy's low employment rate mean for its fiscal position and growth potential?","answer":"Italy's employment rate being 10 percentage points below Germany's represents a substantial economic opportunity cost. Each percentage point of employment rate improvement — mobilising approximately 300,000 additional workers — adds directly to GDP and to payroll tax revenues, reducing the structural primary deficit that has been central to Italy's sovereign debt challenge for decades. Italy's debt/GDP ratio above 140% is sustainable only under favourable growth and interest rate conditions; structural improvements in employment, particularly in the south, are the primary lever available for organic fiscal consolidation. For investors, Italy's employment gap is a long-duration option on structural reform — one that has been partially in-the-money since the Jobs Act but remains far from fully exercised."},{"question":"How has Italy's employment rate trended since the 2013 trough?","answer":"The series trough of 59.7% in 2013 reflected the cumulative impact of two recessions (2008–2009 GFC and 2011–2013 euro crisis), which reduced employment more in Italy than in most peers due to Italy's higher exposure to the sovereign debt crisis and its rigid pre-reform labour market. The subsequent recovery to 67.1% by 2024 — an 11-year, 7.4pp improvement — represents Italy's strongest sustained employment expansion since reunification. Drivers include the Jobs Act reform, the post-COVID services rebound, and PNRR-funded construction and infrastructure activity. However, Italy's pace of improvement remains slower than Spain's over the same period, reflecting deeper structural constraints."}]}