Working in Italy
A labour market split between a manufacturing and service-based North with employment close to the EU average and a South with much lower rates. No statutory minimum wage: pay and hours are set by collective agreements (CCNL). A thirteenth monthly salary almost everywhere, a fourteenth in some sectors.
Sections: Sectors · Salaries · Job search · Applications · Qualifications · Contracts
Where the jobs are
Employment is concentrated in the North, home to manufacturing (mechanical engineering, automotive, machinery), fashion and design, chemicals and pharmaceuticals and most business services; Milan is the centre of finance, consulting and digital. The Centre has an economy of public services, tourism and small industry; Rome is the administrative capital with a large public sector. The South and the islands have markedly lower employment rates, with agri-food, seasonal tourism, public employment and a few industrial hubs (Taranto, Melfi, Pomigliano, Syracuse) as the main employers. ISTAT publishes monthly data on employment and unemployment and quarterly regional detail.
Contract types
The open-ended contract (tempo indeterminato) is the standard form and gives full access to protections, mortgages and long-term residence permits. The fixed-term contract has limits on duration and renewals set by law and by the CCNL. Apprenticeship combines work and training for young people with reduced pay and employer incentives. Self-employment is carried out with a VAT number (partita IVA, possibly under the flat-rate 'forfettario' regime for lower incomes) or through coordinated collaborations; a collaboration that is in practice subordinate work can be reclassified. Agency work is common in logistics and manufacturing. Every hire is notified to the Ministry of Labour and the worker receives a hiring letter stating the applicable CCNL, grade and pay.
Pay, CCNL, extra months
Italy has no statutory minimum wage: minimum pay, hours, holidays and seniority increments are set by national collective labour agreements (CCNL), signed for each sector by unions and employer associations and filed with CNEL, which publishes them. In almost all sectors annual pay is split into thirteen monthly instalments (the thirteenth arrives in December); some agreements, such as retail and tourism, also provide a fourteenth in June or July. The payslip shows gross pay, INPS social contributions, IRPEF withholding and net pay; the gap between gross and net is wide, and anyone negotiating a salary should clarify whether the figure is gross annual (RAL) or net monthly. GoNest does not report salary levels without an official source: for comparisons see the ISTAT and EURES tables cited.
How to search
Public channels are the Centri per l'impiego (job centres), run by the regions, which record availability for work (also needed for some benefits) and offer guidance; the European EURES portal, useful for those coming from another EU country; and public competitions (concorsi), the only route into public employment and open to EU citizens for most roles. In the private sector job portals, employment agencies and, to a large extent, personal networks matter. An Italian CV often includes date of birth and a photo, and a data-processing consent line; knowledge of Italian is required almost everywhere outside multinationals and research. Regulated foreign qualifications (health, teaching, chartered professions) require formal recognition before practising.
Data
Sources
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Reviewed: 10/20/2026 · by piero.avolio · rev. 1 · Period: → 2027-04-30
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