Overview
- The provisional Istat estimates published Friday, May 29, 2026, put employment at a record 24,337,000 with an employment rate of 63.1% and an overall unemployment rate of 5.1%.
- Year-on-year employment rose by 269,000, driven by an increase in permanent employees (+143,000) and self-employed workers (+190,000) while temporary contracts fell by 64,000.
- Monthly figures show a gain of 123,000 jobs and a drop of 102,000 in people inactive aged 15–64, with job growth across most age groups except for the 35–49 cohort where numbers are flat.
- Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and other government officials hailed the numbers as proof their policies reduced precarity and expanded stable work, with ministers describing the results as a consolidation of the labour market.
- Commentators and EU sources caution the gains are concentrated in older workers and that low female and youth participation, regional gaps, and weak productivity could limit lasting economic benefits.