Low wages

Wages are low in Italy, but not the lowest in Europe. This has been said and written for years. However, if it is the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, who points it out, there is some truth to it. Italian wages are 15% lower than those in other European Union countries (Eurostat data). A realistic look at the facts, the figures, and the money is needed. This look must be placed within the global context: wars, tariffs, whether or not they are coming, the explosion in energy costs, inflation at 2%, the crisis in many industrial sectors.
Economists will do their calculations, cross-reference data, and make comparisons. People and street reporters do something else: they observe, they see for themselves. And then they discover that many more people are struggling. Let's leave aside the managers who collect outrageous salaries. The first salary is around €1,200-1,400 net. Low, yes, definitely. And many newspapers tell us about the difficulties faced by those in those conditions and, indeed, count their coins at the end of the month. Let's be clear: it's not all the government's fault, nor all the EU's, but also the crisis, inflation, and the economic system.

Meanwhile, people go shopping where they get unused lunch tickets; they look for the best deals; they go back to buying and paying for many things in installments. Indeed, school, transportation, lunches, pizza, dinners, lunches cost more, and in smaller towns and neighborhoods, communal housing (in the days of Don Camillo and Peppone, they were called "people's houses") is once again in vogue: they are reborn oratories and reception centers.

It's true, however, that wages are rising, but not enough. Although average hourly wages rose by 3.9% in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2024, "real contractual wages in March 2025 are still approximately eight percent lower than those in January 2021," according to the ISTAT report on Collective Bargaining Agreements and Contractual Wages.
So it's true: "There's something new, or rather old" on the horizon. Added to this are the fixed-term contracts, which remain too many, given the general uncertainty in the world and the potential slap of tariffs on everything. In March, ISTAT says employment suffered a setback: the number of employed people fell by 16,000; a decline that hit women, those under 35, fixed-term employees, and the self-employed. In other age groups, among men and permanent employees, the number of employed people is growing. The employment rate remains stable at 63%. At the same time, the number of unemployed men under 50 rose by 32,000 (+2.1%): the unemployment rate rose to 6% (+0.1 percentage points), while the youth unemployment rate rose to 19% (+1.6 percentage points).

There is an Italy, "the Italy that struggles," which finds itself caught between uncertain challenges and economic and social difficulties. An Italy that, despite having a great cultural, artistic, and industrial heritage, faces a period of economic slowdown, difficulty finding work, and challenges related to an aging population and inequality. If the President says so...!!! And he repeats it at the UN in Turin...


Gian Mario Ricciardi
NP June/July 2025