Informal employment in Italy
Italy: Informal employment was 16.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Informal employment in Italy, 2014–2024
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of total agricultural employment.
Analysis
In 2024, informal employment in Italy stood at 16.0%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 13.8% on the previous year and up 55.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Italy peaked at 31.6% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 9.7%, in 2015.
Italy ranks 30th of 44 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Informal employment in Italy, year by year
| Year | % of total agricultural employment | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 10.3% | — |
| 2015 | 9.7% | -6.1% |
| 2016 | 15.5% | +60.7% |
| 2017 | 17.5% | +12.7% |
| 2018 | 16.6% | -5.1% |
| 2019 | 19.5% | +17.2% |
| 2020 | 16.7% | -14.1% |
| 2021 | 19.9% | +18.9% |
| 2022 | 31.6% | +58.7% |
| 2023 | 18.5% | -41.4% |
| 2024 | 16.0% | -13.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 14.9% | 9.7% | 19.5% | 6 |
| 2020s | 20.5% | 16.0% | 31.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Italy
More work & labour data for Italy
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.6708 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.6794 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.662 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -2.03 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.0094 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 44,671 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 10,422 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 17,512 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 17,865 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 35,377 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Italy?
- Informal employment in Italy was 16.0% in 2024, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 31.6% in 2022.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.7% in 2015.
- How does Italy rank for informal employment?
- Italy ranks 30th out of 44 countries with data for 2024.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is up 55.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Italy data come from?
- The figures come from Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Informal employment (% of total agricultural employment). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
This indicator shows the share of workers at working age in informal employment in agricultural activities out of total employment in agricultural activities, expressed as a percentage. Informal employment comprises persons whose main or secondary jobs are informal. For own-account workers and employers, informality is determined by enterprise characteristics (unincorporated, market-based, and unregistered); for contributing family workers, it is determined by the absence of written contracts and lack of coverage under labor legislation; and for employees, it is determined by whether the employment relationship is not subject to national labor legislation, income taxation, or social protection. The data are based on the statistical standards adopted by the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS).