Unemployment rate in Italy 2008-2020

Italy's unemployment rate almost reached 9.1 percent in the first quarter of 2020, the lowest value since 2012. The regions with the highest unemployment rates were situated in the South. Sicily, Campania, and Calabria registered rates from 16.5 percent to 17.8 percent, a large difference when compared to the Northern regions. For instance, 4.9 percent of people in Trentino South-Tyrol were unemployed, the lowest share nationwide.

Young people mostly impacted

  Figures about the youth unemployment rate show that the financial crisis impacted the young working population significantly. Between 2004 and 2007, the share of unemployed individuals aged 15 to 24 years was declining. Subsequently, between 2008 and 2014, the rate increased over 15 percentage points. In this case, Southern regions had the largest proportion of young people without a job. In Sicily, Campania, and Calabria more than half of the population aged between 15 and 24 years was unemployed.

Women more often unemployed

  In most of the Italian regions, the share of young unemployed women was higher than those of young males. In both Campania and Sicily, 60.4 percent of women aged 15 to 24 years did not have a job. The Southern region of Calabria was the place in Italy with the highest rate of unemployed young men. In this region, 50.3 percent of males were unemployed, almost ten times more than in Trentino-South Tyrol, where the unemployment rate of young men stood at about 11 percent.