Introduction

The report "The Wage Gap of Foreign Workers in Italy" has been published. It was produced for the Forum on Inequalities and Diversity by Giacomo Stazi, a research consultant at the firm Open Evidence, as part of the report New Measures of Wage Adequacy, developed by the same firm for the European Commission.

The issue of wage inequality represents one of the central questions in contemporary economic and social debate. Among the many forms of disparity present in the labour market, that affecting immigrant workers is of particular relevance in Italy — a country that has seen the presence of foreign nationals grow significantly over recent decades. According to the most recent data from ISTAT, foreign residents in Italy number approximately 5.3 million and represent nearly 9% of the total population. Despite their contribution to the national economy having become structural, deep differences persist in employment opportunities and wage levels compared to Italian workers.

Analysis of the wage gap between national and foreign workers reveals that Italy ranks among the European countries with the greatest pay inequalities linked to migratory origin. Data derived from the European survey EU-SILC (European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions) for the period 2009–2023 show that foreign workers earn significantly lower wages than Italians, both in terms of hourly pay and annual income.

The study considers exclusively dependent employees between the ages of 15 and 65 who received employment income in the twelve months preceding the survey, thereby excluding self-employed workers. It further distinguishes between EU workers — that is, those born in a European Union country other than Italy — and non-EU workers, originating from countries outside the EU. This classification is based on country of birth rather than formal citizenship.

The objective of the analysis is to understand not only the extent of wage differences, but also their main determinants, assessing the role of factors such as educational attainment, age, economic sector, occupation, and possible forms of discrimination present in the labour market.

The Extent of the Wage Gap

In 2023, the average wage gap between Italian and foreign workers reached particularly high levels. Considering the average hourly wage, migrant workers earned 32.6% less than Italian workers. Using the median wage as a reference, the differential stood at 26.5%.

These figures place Italy at the top of the European rankings for pay disparities between national and foreign workers. The situation appears even more critical when examining the prevalence of low-paid work. In 2023, over 35% of foreign workers were employed in jobs characterised by wages below two-thirds of the national median hourly pay. Among Italian workers, by contrast, the share employed in low-wage jobs stood at around 15%.

This difference highlights how foreign workers are far more exposed to the risk of economic precarity and in-work poverty — a phenomenon that occurs when income earned through employment is nonetheless insufficient to guarantee adequate living conditions.

Differences Between EU and Non-EU Workers

The analysis further reveals that the wage gap does not affect all foreign workers uniformly. Significant differences exist between immigrants from EU countries and those from non-EU countries.

EU workers record average wages 30.8% lower than those of Italians. In 2023, their average hourly wage was approximately €9.32, compared to the €13.46 earned on average by national workers.

The situation is even more disadvantageous for non-EU immigrants. Their average hourly wage stood at €8.35, representing a 38% disadvantage relative to the national average.

This difference suggests that country of origin continues to significantly influence employment opportunities and wage levels. Language barriers, the non-recognition of qualifications obtained abroad, and more limited access to professional networks are among the factors that help explain the greater disadvantage faced by immigrants from countries outside the European Union.

A further relevant element concerns how these differences have evolved over time. Between 2009 and 2023, the wage gap of EU workers relative to Italians progressively narrowed, while that of non-EU workers remained substantially stable. As a result, the distance between the two immigrant groups has widened, revealing a growing polarisation within the foreign population.

The Intersection of Migratory Origin and Gender

Wage inequalities do not depend solely on national origin, but intersect with other forms of disadvantage — in particular, those linked to gender.

Italian female workers show a relatively modest wage gap compared to Italian men, at approximately 5.5%. However, when foreign female workers are considered, the situation changes radically.

Female immigrants from EU countries record significantly lower pay levels than Italian workers, while non-EU women represent the most disadvantaged group of all. In 2023, their average wage was 42.6% lower than that of Italian men.

This figure demonstrates how gender inequalities and those linked to migratory origin do not simply add together, but tend to reinforce one another. Non-EU female workers are in fact often concentrated in the least remunerative sectors of the economy — such as domestic work, personal care, and certain service industries — where career prospects and wage growth are generally limited.

The Role of Education and Age

To understand the causes of the wage gap, it is necessary to analyse the socioeconomic characteristics of workers.

One of the most significant aspects concerns the relationship between educational attainment and pay. Contrary to what one might expect, the wage gap between Italians and foreigners tends to increase with higher levels of education.

Among non-EU workers aged between 46 and 65, the wage differential is approximately 21% for those with primary-level education. However, the gap rises to 31% for those who have completed secondary education, and reaches 51% among university graduates.

A similar dynamic affects EU workers as well, whose disadvantage increases significantly when moving from intermediate to higher levels of education.

This phenomenon suggests that the economic return on education is lower for foreign workers than for Italians. In other words, for equivalent qualifications, immigrants tend to receive lower wages.

Among the main causes are difficulties in obtaining recognition of qualifications earned abroad, particularly in non-EU countries. Many highly qualified immigrants therefore end up performing jobs that require lower skills than those they actually possess — a phenomenon known as "over-education" or "occupational downgrading."

Age also affects the wage gap. At equivalent levels of education, pay differences are wider among older workers. This suggests that immigrants face greater difficulties in having their accumulated professional experience recognised, and benefit less from the wage increases typically associated with seniority.

Occupational Segmentation

A substantial portion of the wage gap is attributable to the unequal distribution of workers across different economic sectors and occupations.

Foreign workers are heavily concentrated in sectors characterised by low pay levels. The sectors with the highest presence of immigrants include personal and community services, agriculture, tourism, hospitality, and construction — activities that often require limited qualifications and offer wages below the national average.

From an occupational standpoint, strong segregation is also evident. Foreign workers occupy a very small share of managerial, technical, and highly skilled professional positions, while they are heavily represented in manual and low-skilled occupations.

Analysis of the distribution of workers along the wage scale shows that approximately one quarter of foreign workers are concentrated in the lowest-paid jobs. Among Italians, the corresponding share is below 9%.

At the opposite end of the distribution, the best-paid occupations are almost entirely out of reach for foreign workers. Only a minimal proportion of immigrants manage to access professions offering high wages.

This occupational segmentation represents one of the main factors explaining the large wage gap observed between Italians and foreigners.

Wage Differences Within the Same Job

To assess whether the pay gap depends exclusively on differing occupational distribution or also on other factors, the study compares the wages of Italian and foreign workers performing exactly the same job in the same economic sector.

The results show that, even when performing identical tasks, foreign workers continue to earn lower wages.

The most marked differences concern transport and logistics operators, construction workers, and certain healthcare professionals. In these cases, the wage gap can exceed 15–20%.

Overall, considering an average across the various jobs analysed, a wage differential of 9.2% emerges to the disadvantage of foreign workers.

This portion of the gap cannot be explained by the simple concentration of immigrants in lower-paid sectors, and points to the existence of additional penalising mechanisms. These may include discriminatory practices, weaker bargaining power, limited awareness of available opportunities, and corporate strategies that exploit the generally lower wage expectations of migrant workers.

It should nonetheless be noted that occupational segmentation itself may partly be the result of discriminatory processes that restrict immigrants' access to better-paid professions.

Conclusions

The analysis of the wage gap between Italian and foreign workers reveals a reality characterised by deep economic and occupational inequalities. Italy has one of the highest wage differentials between its national and immigrant populations in Europe, with a gap exceeding 30% and a strong concentration of foreign workers in the least remunerative segments of the labour market.

The differences are particularly pronounced for non-EU immigrants and for foreign women, who represent the most disadvantaged group overall. Furthermore, the economic return on education and work experience appears significantly lower for immigrants, highlighting structural barriers to the full utilisation of available skills.

A substantial portion of the wage gap stems from occupational segregation, which concentrates foreign workers in lower-paid sectors and professions. However, even when performing the same role in the same economic sector, a significant wage differential persists — estimated at around 9.2% — which may be interpreted as the result of discriminatory and penalising mechanisms.

These findings point to the need for targeted interventions aimed at facilitating the recognition of qualifications obtained abroad, improving immigrants' access to skilled professions, combating discrimination in the labour market, and promoting greater professional mobility. Reducing the wage gap is not merely a matter of social equity, but also an essential condition for fully realising the economic and human contribution of the immigrant population to the country's development.