Key Points
- In Italy, 25% of job offers are directed towards foreign workers, with 650,000 contracts planned for the first seven months of 2024, especially in the tourism sector.
- Tourism is the leading sector in hiring foreign workers, accounting for 18.8% of all planned contracts, with over 90,000 jobs reserved for migrants.
- Other sectors with significant foreign worker recruitment include support services (e.g., call centers, cleaning), green maintenance, transport services, logistics, and storage, offering over 69,000 contracts.
Jobs in Italy are now more available for foreign workers than ever before. According to the Labor Ministry, one in every fourth job is directed towards a foreign worker. Of 650,000 contracts offered, about 20 percent have been given to workers from abroad.
The current influx has also reason linked to the Decreto Flussi program. This helps Italy to recruit skilled workers and highly qualified professionals from around the world for the seasonal and nonseasonal visa programs.
This trend was highlighted by a recent analysis from Unioncamere (Union of Chambers of Commerce) and the Italian Ministry of Labor, which looked into the hiring plans of industry and service firms from January to July 2024. During this period, Italian firms planned to sign 650,000 contracts with foreign workers, who are especially in demand in specific sectors.
Tourism Leading the Way
Of all sectors, the leading sector driving this demand is tourism in Italy, where 18.8 percent of all planned contracts are for foreign workers. Tourism alone has allocated one-third of its total hires to migrants, resulting in over 90,000 jobs either in Italy directly or through work visas from abroad.
Other Key Sectors
Other sectors with significant opportunities for foreign workers include support services for firms, such as call centers, cleaning services, and green maintenance. Transport services, logistics, and storage are prominent sectors, offering over 69,000 contracts to foreign workers in the first seven months of 2024.
Year-to-Year Comparisons
Furthermore, comparing this year to 2023, when over one million migrant workers were hired (a record year), some differences emerge. In 2024, the demand for foreign labor increased in the construction sector, while it decreased in the metallurgical and metal products industries. However, overall job offers for migrants have continued to rise with the passage of time.
Record-Breaking Trends
In general last year, the demand for foreign labor peaked at 19.2 percent of the total industry requests, the highest figure in the last six years, surpassing the 17.8 percent witnessed in 2022. This growing trend indicates a robust demand for foreign workers across various sectors in Italy, highlighting their crucial role in the country’s workforce.
Recruitment through Decreto Flussi Visa Programs in the Tourism sector
According to the Italian Ministry of Interior, the quota for the Decreto Flussi 2024 set aside as 151,000 in total. Under the seasonal visa program, 31,000 citizens of countries with current immigration agreements in the tourism sector (application submitted by employer associations) can get work visas in the tourism sector. Next year in 2025, for the same category, a 32,000 quota has been set.
The overall quota for Decreto Flussi in Italy has been set as follows:
| Year | Total Quota | Seasonal | Non-Seasonal | Self-Employed |
| 2023 | 136,000 | 82,550 | 52,770 | 680 |
| 2024 | 151,000 | 89,050 | 61,250 | 700 |
| 2025 | 165,000 | 93,550 | 70,720 | 730 |