Forecasted unemployment rate in Italy 2020-2024

According to a forecast from December 2022, the unemployment rate in Italy could reach 8.7 percent of the total labor force in 2023, still recovering from the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The rate is then expected to drop to 8.5 percent in 2024. Italy's unemployment rate stood at 8.3 percent in 2022, one of the lowest rates of the last years.

Weak employment situation

Unemployment in Italy started increasing after the 2008 financial crisis and peaked at 12.7 percent in 2014. The issue mostly affected the young population. Similarly, the youth unemployment rate also increased significantly during the same period, reaching over 40 percent in 2014. Even if the figures decreased in the following years, in 2021 the rates were still particularly high in the southern regions. Indeed, the youth unemployment rate in the regions of Sicily, Calabria, and Campania stood at over 47 percent.

COVID-19 impact on economy

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak had a serious impact on Italy’s economy. In June 2020, most Italian respondents declared that the coronavirus pandemic had impacted or would impact in the future their personal incomes. In addition, the fear of losing the job due to the pandemic has been increasing in the country, with more than half of respondents worrying about this in July 2020.