What jobs are available in Italy? Are any jobs available in Italy? These are some of the most frequently asked questions by prospective expats in Italy. Stereotypes of Italy as a land of unemployed masses, working cash-in-hand for pennies, abound. In this article, we attempt to shed light on the realities of the Italian job market, from which jobs in Italy are in demand to how much you can expect to be paid, all the way down to ways to reduce your tax burden and make the move to Italy more attractive.
1. Reality Check: Italy Is NOT A High-Unemployment Country
🔹 Claim: “Italy has no jobs.”
🔹 Reality: Italy’s unemployment rate (5.7% in 2024) is actually lower than the EU average (5.9%). However, labour participation is significantly lower, meaning that while unemployment figures seem normal, a large portion of working-age Italians are not in the workforce. There are a number of reasons for this: there’s often comparatively little money to be made from switching from unemployment benefits to full-time work (more about that later), and some areas are indeed high in unemployment, especially for youths under the age of 30.
🚩 What’s really happening?
- The North-South divide remains stark. Most of the North has rock-bottom unemployment rates, and any jobseeker can reasonably expect to land a job in fairly short order.
- In some southern regions, a significant number of people work off the books (in nero), which skews official employment statistics.
- Many “unemployed” people might still be earning a living informally. This is especially true for pensioners, who often keep a “side gig” past retirement age, being paid in cash.
2. Reality Check: Italy Has a Massive Labour Shortage
Just a few days ago, a local newspaper from the Veneto reported that in the province of Vicenza alone, home to some 850,000 people, 43,000 job openings are ready to be filled, and workers cannot be found. The local Chamber of Commerce reports that 78,000 workers would be needed to fill all positions, and more than 50% of these are worker profiles that are very difficult to find, such as workers in the textile, pharmaceutical, and engineering industries.
🔹 Claim: “There are no jobs in Italy.”
🔹 Reality: Italy has critical shortages in key professions. Censis, a prestigious think tank, reports massive job shortfalls, with half or more of the required personnel missing. Examples include:
- Doctors (64% shortfall)
- Pharmacists (66.8% shortfall)
- Health Technicians (48.8% shortfall)
In practical terms, this means that three in five doctors or pharmacists the country needs cannot be found on the job market.
🚩 What’s really happening?
The issue is not a lack of jobs but a mismatch: there are not enough qualified professionals in key sectors, while many young people struggle to find work in locally impoverished areas and seek therefore to relocate to Northern Italy or abroad.
3. The Issue: Jobs In Italy Are Plentiful But Wages Aren’t Attractive
🔹 Claim: “Unemployment is the problem.”
🔹 Reality: Low salaries are the real issue.
- Even in high-demand jobs, salaries aren’t always competitive.
- A doctor in Italy earns €3,250–4,800 per month net, below equivalents in Germany or the UK.
- The wage gap is especially severe for young workers, leading to brain drain.
We hear constant reports from local entrepreneurs who cannot fill positions. Case in point, welders with little to no experience can hope to earn €2,000 net (€45,000 per year gross) as desperate companies seek to attract what little talent comes straight out of school. At the same time, people with backgrounds in creative professions or management find that their salaries would be higher abroad, leading to brain drain. Italy has historically done too little to attract foreign talent, and Italian-speaking workplaces together with a Byzantine work visa system do nothing to appeal to a global crowd.
🚩 What’s really happening?
- Many younger Italians move North or to other countries because salaries don’t justify the cost of living.
- The North has far better employment conditions than the South, but wages still lag behind comparable EU countries.
- If is less frequent than in the past, but employers are still known to pay something “on the side”, typically as cash in an envelope. This means that jobs in Italy are often reported with lower headline wages than workers actually bring home.
Table: Common Jobs In High Demand In Italy And Their Average Monthly Net Wages
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4. The Salary Misconception: Net vs. Gross Income
This is a unique trait of Italian culture. Perhaps in an unconscious attempt to forget how much of their paycheck ends up in the taxman’s hands, Italians always discuss salaries in net terms. It’s a massive difference: while a French and German junior doctor would discuss (if they felt like being so transparent—another Italian trait) their salary in terms of around €60,000 or €80,000 per year respectively, the Italian doctor would refer to their salary by their net figure of approximately €40,000 per year, against a gross take of around €65,000.
🔹 Claim: “Doctors and other professionals in Italy earn very little.”
🔹 Reality: Italian salaries are often discussed in net terms, whereas most other developed countries use gross salaries. This creates a misleading comparison.
✅ Supporting Data:
- A doctor in Italy would earn in the €3,250–4,800 net per month bracket.
- In Germany, the UK, or the US, advertised salaries for similar roles are in gross terms, making them seem much higher than they are in comparison.
🚩 What’s really happening?
- In Italy, the employer covers all taxes and contributions before salary is discussed, whereas in many other countries, workers can claim deductions (e.g., pension contributions, child benefits, mortgage interest).
- The Italian tax system has historically favoured direct transfers (e.g., child allowances, energy subsidies) rather than tax credits or deductions. For this reason, workers don’t tend to think in gross salary terms.
- Unlike in the US or the UK, Italian workers have very few ways to increase their take-home pay through deductions.
✅ Key Takeaway:
When discussing jobs in Italy, salaries are most often compared net to net, rather than gross to gross. Simply looking at advertised numbers in different countries can create false perceptions of how much less Italians earn.
5. The Reality: Jobs In Italy Are Plentiful (In Some Regions)
🔹 Claim: “There are no jobs in Italy.”
🔹 Reality: Jobs are plentiful in some regions and industries, and demand is likely to increase due to demographic and economic pressures.
✅ Supporting Data:
- Shortage of skilled professionals (healthcare, technical fields, scientific professions).
- Regional disparities: Northern Italy has strong employment demand, while some southern regions still struggle with structural issues.
- Future trends: An ageing population and a shrinking workforce will increase job availability in key sectors.
🚩 What’s really happening?
- While traditional employment can be bureaucratically rigid and taxed heavily, self-employment and remote work are often better choices.
- Italy has special tax regimes that favour freelancers, self-employed professionals, and remote workers.
- The perception of a “job crisis” is outdated—certain fields and regions desperately need workers, while others still experience stagnation.
✅ Key Takeaway:
The idea that “there are no jobs anywhere” is simply false. There is high demand in some areas and professions, and Italy’s shrinking workforce means that job opportunities will continue to grow in the coming years.
6. The Language Factor: A Key Barrier for Foreign Workers
🔹 Claim: “I can find work in Italy without speaking Italian.”
🔹 Reality: Italian is the working language everywhere except in very specific sectors.
✅ Supporting Data:
- English-speaking job markets are limited to:
- Large international businesses (mostly in Milan, Rome, and major corporate hubs).
- The tourism sector (especially in high-traffic tourist areas like Florence, Venice, and the Amalfi Coast).
- Pockets of expats in certain industries (tech startups, digital nomads, and some multinational firms).
- Most traditional employment requires Italian fluency, especially in fields like healthcare, education, and public administration.
🚩 What’s really happening?
- Without at least B1/B2-level Italian, securing a traditional job in most industries is difficult.
- The best options for non-Italian speakers are self-employment, remote work, or expat-heavy industries.
- Some local governments offer free Italian language courses to integrate foreign workers and new residents.
✅ Key Takeaway:
Speaking Italian significantly expands job opportunities. Expats who rely only on English should consider self-employment, remote work, or working within international sectors.
7. The Cost of Giving Up Unemployment And The Tax Wedge
🔹 Claim: “Italians don’t want to work.”
🔹 Reality: Low-wage earners and unemployed individuals in Italy face heavy disincentives to work. Without getting into cultural and regional differences, Italy’s tax wedge on labour costs and the unemployment trap, while in line with EU averages, negatively affect the job market:
- Low wage trap: Italy’s tax disincentive for low-wage earners to increase income (38.75% EU average, 40.63% Euro area average).
- Unemployment trap: The disincentive for unemployed individuals to take a job due to high taxes and benefit reductions (74.42% EU average, 76.22% Euro area average).
- Tax wedge on labour costs: Italy’s wedge (the average share of salary taken up by tax) is close to the EU average (38.6%), higher than Austria’s (42.7%) and Germany’s (43.7%).
🚩 What’s really happening?
- For low-wage earners, the burden of additional taxation can discourage income growth, but Italy does not rank as severely as countries like Belgium (61.4% low-wage trap).
- The tax wedge on labour costs reflects the difference between what employers pay and what employees take home. Italy remains competitive compared to high-tax countries like Germany.
- Policy Insight: Italy relies less on incentivising workforce participation through tax credits and deductions compared to northern Europe. Instead, it focuses more on direct transfers to individuals.
✅ Key Takeaway:
While Italy’s labour tax system has room for improvement, it does not impose significantly greater barriers than most EU countries. However, reforms to enhance income incentives could boost labour participation further.
8. Tax Incentives for Expats and Remote Work Opportunities
🔹 Claim: “Working in Italy means being overburdened by taxes.”
🔹 Reality: Expats can benefit from favourable tax regimes that significantly reduce their tax burden, making Italy an attractive destination for workers and remote professionals.
✅ Supporting Data:
- The “regime degli impatriati” offers a 50% tax break on income for employees who become new residents of Italy, boosting net pay for up to five years.
- Self-employed individuals can enjoy tax rates as low as 5% during their initial years of residence.
- Italy’s relatively low cost of living, especially compared to northern European countries, further enhances its appeal for remote workers. To mention one important trait, with the exception of a few large cities such as Milan, Bologna and Rome, and a few very touristy spots, property prices are very reasonable multiples of income, especially by international levels.
🚩 What’s really happening?
- These incentives provide a unique opportunity for expats to benefit from reduced taxation, significantly increasing their disposable income.
- Combined with a favourable lifestyle and competitive living costs, Italy proves to be an ideal location for remote work or relocation.
✅ Key Takeaway:
Those willing to work and adapt will find that Italy offers far more opportunities than its stereotypes suggest. The combination of tax incentives, a low cost of living, and an improving job market makes it a highly attractive destination for expats and remote professionals.
Conclusion
Three stereotypes simply do not stand the test of data: first, that are no jobs in Italy. Second, that jobs are generally badly paid. And third, that it is impossible to work in Italy without being choked by taxes. In reality, Italy is relatively attractive for jobseekers due to its moderate cost of living. More importantly, the country is attractive for digital nomads and entrepreneurs, who can take advantage of a skilled workforce at comparatively lower wages than in other leading European countries.
Additional Reading
Top 10 Regions for Healthcare in Italy: A Data-Driven Guide
The 90-Day Rule For EU Citizens in Italy. Can You Get Fined For Overstaying? The Official Response.
Sources
Eurostat labour and property affordability statistics
CENSIS 2024 report on Italian society
ISTAT statistics on the state of Italian companies in 2022
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