Table of Contents:
The current wage environment in Italy
In 2024, Italy is faced with an evolving pay landscape, with an average wage increase of 3.5%. However, inflation, which stands at 1.1%, limits real growth to 2.4%. These figures, although positive, are lower than the initial forecasts that indicated an increase of 3.8%. The research conducted by WTW highlights how the salaries of managers and employees registered the largest increases in the short term, while managers have benefited from more significant increases in the long term.
Wage disparity and opportunities for recent graduates
Despite the general increase in salaries, the salaries of recent graduates and first-time workers remain worryingly low. In the last 12 months, the fixed component of salaries has increased for all contract categories by more than 4%, but recent graduates have seen an increase limited to 5%, insufficient to compensate for inflation. This scenario leads to a real loss of more than 10% for this category, highlighting the need for more effective policies to improve the salary prospects of
young professionals.
The Gender Pay Gap and its implications
Another critical aspect that emerged from the research is the Gender Pay Gap, which remains stable at 15.2%. This gap tends to increase with the level of classification, highlighting the disparities that exist between the various sectors. The sectors with the highest gap are Financial Services and Automotive, while sectors such as Transportation and Natural Resources show smaller gaps. It is crucial to address these inequalities to ensure a fairer and more inclusive labor market
.
Future prospects and European comparison
Looking to the future, forecasts for 2025 indicate wage stability with an expected increase of 3.5%, but with inflation rising slightly to 1.6%, which means that real growth will be limited to 1.9%. At the European level, countries such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom show higher average wage increases, highlighting the need for Italy to improve the competitiveness of its salaries. The entry wage for recent Italian graduates, currently around 30,500 euros, remains among the lowest in Europe, prompting many young people
to seek opportunities abroad.
