Italy's job market shift to self‑employment amid rising instability

Italy’s latest labour market report shows overall employment rose slightly in the first quarter (+0.3%, 67,000 jobs) but the growth is almost entirely due to autonomous workers, who increased by 72,000 (+1.4%). Permanent contracts fell by 13,000 and temporary jobs by 9,000, while the share of people no longer looking for work jumped by 320,000 (+2.6%), raising the inactivity rate to 33.7%. The report highlights a growing reliance on informal networks – 72% of job seekers use personal contacts rather than public employment services.

A separate study of the hidden economy in Tuscany found that 8.2% of regional employment is irregular, well below the national average of 10%. The domestic care sector is the most affected, with nearly half of home‑care workers (48.8%) lacking formal contracts. Agriculture and cultural‑creative sectors also show high irregularity (20.8% and 20.3% respectively). The underground economy in Tuscany generates €4.447 billion annually, about 3.5% of the region’s total value added.