Toscana Notizie – Flash Lavoro n. 67/2026

THE OVERALL PICTURE

Throughout 2025, the labor market trend is characterized by a decline in hiring: approximately 22,000 fewer new hires compared to 2024 (-2.5%). The contraction in labor demand was reflected in a slowdown in the growth of salaried employment: in the fourth quarter of 2025, the number of salaried employees increased by approximately 16,000 compared to the same period in 2024 (+1.2%, +1.7% year-over-year). Growth in permanent employment continued, up 2.5% from the previous year: within this category, the number of employees on indefinite contracts increased, while the number of apprentices declined; the number of employees on fixed-term contracts decreased (-1.9%). By sector, on a year-over-year basis, all major sectors showed growth, but manufacturing remained the weakest component: the “Made in Italy” sector lost employees (-1.2% over the year, -1.5% in the quarter), with fashion-related manufacturing contracting. In the service sector, tourism services continued to grow: +2.9% compared to the previous year, +2.3% in the quarter. The ISTAT Labor Force Survey indicates a slowdown in overall employment: the number of employed persons aged 15 and older remained at the same level as the previous year at 1,668 thousand and showed a slight decline in the fourth quarter. The average annual unemployment rate rose to 4.3%; it was 4.0% in 2024.

In-Depth Analysis
USE OF THE WAGE SUBSIDY PROGRAM FROM 2022 TO 2025: A COMPARISON AMONG ITALIAN REGIONS

By Donatella Marinari (IRPET)

The data released by INPS on authorized hours clearly show that, between 2022 and 2025, the use of temporary layoff benefits in Italian industry not only shows an increase in volume but also a shift in the breakdown by reason. The growth is gradual throughout the entire period: 2024 marks a sharp acceleration, and 2025 confirms the worsening of the situation, with over 546 million authorized hours and a further increase compared to the previous year. The most significant aspect concerns, above all, the shift in the reasons for layoff, which signals a change in the nature of the difficulties faced by the national production system. While in 2024 the growth in ordinary layoff benefits—more closely linked to production slowdowns and cyclical shocks—predominated, in 2025 the weight of the extraordinary component increases, driven by the rise in authorized hours due to reorganization or crises. These findings indicate a shift from predominantly cyclical difficulties to more structural challenges.
Furthermore, this trend is not distributed evenly across the country. A regional comparison highlights marked differences in the prevailing reasons for use: in the northern regions, recourse to the CIG remains more cyclical in nature, with the ordinary component accounting for a larger share; in the South, however, extraordinary reasons take on greater significance, particularly those related to reorganization or crises; Tuscany presents an intermediate profile, with a relatively more pronounced presence of solidarity contracts. This trend is accompanied by an increase in the amount of temporarily unused manufacturing labor, estimated based on the authorized hours of temporary layoff benefits under the assumption of full utilization of the authorized measures. At the national level, the increase observed in 2024 continues into 2025, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of the total number of manufacturing employees.