Istat: employment stable in August, but growth slows

Employment in August remains at its highest (24 million and 352 thousand employed), but slows down compared to July (-5 thousand): for the fourth month in a row, Istat records a slowdown. At the same time there is a growth in the number of unemployed (+48 thousand units) which is accompanied by a decline in the inactive (-21 thousand).

According to Istat, the employment rate stands at 63%, decreasing among 25-34 year olds and 35-49 year olds, growing among those at least 50 years of age and stable in the 15-24 year old range. The unemployment rate (6.2%) also grows on a monthly basis among 15-24 year olds and 25-34 year olds and is stable among those at least 35 years of age; the inactivity rate (32.7%) compared to July decreases in all age groups, with the exception of 35-49 year olds for whom it is growing.

Moving instead the comparison with August 2025, on an annual basis there are 291 thousand more employed people, but the number of unemployed people also grows by 129 thousand units and the number of inactive people decreases by 381 thousand units. We are witnessing a recomposition of employment with more stable work both in comparison with trends and in economic terms, a trend which is probably the result of the difficulty on the part of companies in finding the profiles they are looking for (the so-called mismatch between supply and demand concerns almost one scheduled hiring in two), which pushes them to stabilize the workforce. Compared to August 2025, there are 370 thousand more permanent workers, 157 thousand fewer fixed-term workers and 78 thousand fewer self-employed workers. Even compared to July 2026, permanent workers are growing (+48 thousand), fixed-term workers are decreasing (-48 thousand) as are self-employed workers (-5 thousand).

The Confcom research office highlights how among those employed «permanent employees, who now represent 68.5% of total employment, are a segment that is still growing. This would indicate that businesses do not expect a significant slowdown in economic activity any time soon."