In Italy people work 5 years less than in the rest of Europe

Italy is one of the European countries in which people live the longest, but also one of those in which people spend fewer years in the job market. In 2025 the expected duration of the working life stops at 33 yearsthe second lowest value in the European Union after Romania and four and a half years less than the EU average of 37.5 years. The improvement compared to 2024 is minimal: just over two months, compared to an increase of three months recorded in the European average. Last year the Italian indicator was in fact equal to 32.8 years, while that of the Union stood at 37.2. The distance from the main European economies remains very large.

The expected duration of working life reaches 40.2 years in Germany, 37.5 in France and 36.8 in Spain. In the Netherlands it even reaches 44 years: eleven more than in Italy. The comparison with ten years ago confirms that Italy has advanced, but not enough to catch up. In 2015 the expected duration of working life was 30.7 years: in a decade it therefore increased by 2.3 years. In the same period the European Union average went from 34.9 to 37.5 years, an increase of 2.6 years.

Il Italian delay compared to the EUinstead of reducing, it thus rose from 4.2 to 4.5 years. Between 2015 and 2025, Germany went from 37.9 to 40.2 years, France from 34.9 to 37.5 and Spain from 35 to 36.8. Italy has recovered part of the distance from Spain, but has not closed the gap between it and Germany and has lost further ground compared to France and the European average.

It’s worse for women

The most critical data concerns women. In Italy the expected duration of their working life is just 28.4 years, compared to 35.4 on the European average. The gap between men and women reaches 8.9 years, the highest in the Union. A result consistent with a female employment rate stuck at 58%, almost thirteen points below the EU average, and with the widest gender employment gap between member states.

The indicators

The indicator does not measure the retirement age nor the number of years actually worked by those with continuous employment. It estimates the years a 15-year-old can expect to spend in the labor force, as employed or unemployed, based on current demographic conditions and participation levels. The Italian result therefore reflects above all the late entry of young people, discontinuous careers and low female participation.

The picture takes on even greater weight in a country where the median age has reached 49.1 years, the over 65s represent almost a quarter of the population and pension spending is equal to 15.5% of GDP, the highest share in the European Union. “The real Italian social security issue – states CNA President Dario Costantini – is therefore a question of work, productivity and participation. In a rapidly aging country, leaving such a large part of human capital unused does not only represent a social problem, but a structural limit to the growth and future stability of the pension system”.

Extending working life cannot mean freezing the job market. Without new hires, generational relays and coaching paths, the permanence of the elderly risks slowing down the entry of young people and to make the turnover of skills even more difficult. We need targeted policies for youth and female employment, the strengthening of technical and professional education, apprenticeships, the conciliation between work and family, continuous training and active ageing. It is also necessary to support the transmission of businesses and skills between generations, enhancing the role of micro and small businesses, which represent a crucial gateway to work and professional growth.