Employment in public services is growing, but those employed are elderly

Employment in the world of public services marks an increase in numbers and shows the virtuous cycle undertaken by collective bargaining. This is what emerges from Labor Report 2026 created by Utilitalia in collaboration with Ref Ricerche and presented today in Rome at the CNEL headquarters: a study carried out on a representative sample of over 110,000 workers in the water, urban hygiene and energy companies that belong to Utilitalia.

Employment shows stability in energy sector and a development in water sector and in that environmental. The data in the report also confirms the virtuous cycle undertaken by national collective bargainingwhich made it possible to reduce pay differentials with i industrial sectorswidening the space in favor of the performance bonus and the contractual and corporate welfarethe latter expressed in a wide range of tools to protect the quality of work and the well-being of people who work in essential public services. Even thefemale employmentwhich oscillates between 20.99% of the environmental sector and 28.83% of the gas-water sector, marks an increase: women are mainly employed in administrative and management activities and hold medium-high qualifications.

Critical issues related to the average age

The public services sector therefore shows positive signs, but problems remain. The main one is related tohigh average agewith the over 50s representing around 50% of the workforce and the under 40s at 30%; this creates complications in the energy sector, where strong forces are needed investments in training to update skills, and in urban hygiene, which due to its characteristics exposes workers to greater physical efforts and requires adequate generational change.

Need for regulatory interventions

The need for one is therefore confirmed adequate legislation that takes charge of the social effects dictated by the new development objectives of the sectors. “The Labor Report – explains the president of Utilitalia, Luca Dal Fabbro – confirms the Federation’s commitment to providing a service to all members on the matter and to implementing the transparency operation on one of the relevant cost factors in the services sector. It is a conceptual and timely analysis from which an important evolution of the sector emerges, despite an unfavorable economic situation”.