Illegal and underground economy in Italy is worth over 218 billion. The data

The other data

Irregular work units are approximately 3 million 277 thousand, with an increase of over 145 thousand units compared to 2023. In detail, the overall unobserved dynamics of the economy is supported by the growth in added value generated by the use of irregular work, which increases by 3.9% (corresponding to approximately 3.1 billion euros).

Compared to the previous year, the added value due to under-declaration recorded a decrease of 0.6% (equal to -0.6 billion euros). However, the contraction of the other components of the underground economy is more marked: tips and undeclared rents decreased by 13.1% (equal to -1.6 billion) compared to 2023. Illegal activities also decreased, recording a reduction of 0.9% (approximately -0.2 billion).

In 2024, a significant recomposition of the relative weight of the different unobserved components of the economy emerges. In particular, the share of added value generated by the use of irregular labor rises to 36.8%, with an increase of 1.3 percentage points compared to 2023 (35.5%).

Conversely, the weight of value added from under-declaration drops to 49.3%, from 49.7% in 2023. The other components of the underground economy represent 4.9% of the total unobserved economy, compared to 5.6% in 2023.