Talent flight abroad costs Italy $11 billion, but Calderone says departures fell 20%

Italy is losing skilled workers abroad at a cost estimated at up to 11.4 billion euros, but Labor Minister Marina Calderone says the trend began to reverse in 2025.

A Teha Group study presented in Cernobbio with Philip Morris Italia said 141,000 Italian citizens moved their residence abroad in 2024. Forty-five percent were graduates. Over the past decade, the study said, Italy lost more than 300,000 qualified citizens. The public training invested in those people represents 7.2 billion euros a year, rising to between 10.7 billion and 11.4 billion euros when potential value added that was never generated is included.

Calderone said the latest figures should be read alongside new data from Italy's national statistics institute. The number of Italians moving abroad fell by more than 20% in 2025, she said, calling it “a reversal of the trend.” She also pointed to a record 24.3 million employed people, more than 1.3 million above the level at the start of the government's term.

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A reversal of the trend.

The minister highlighted the composition of employment growth. For every reduction in a temporary contract, she said, there were almost three additional permanent contracts. More than 16 million workers had stable contracts in July, which she described as a source of security for families and confidence in the Italian system.

Businesses surveyed for the study identified low wages relative to living costs as the main problem, cited by 82.1% of respondents. Distrust in institutions followed at 46.4%, while 35.7% cited limited professional opportunities. Nearly 94% of companies considered the phenomenon problematic or very problematic, and half said it already had a significant impact on their business.

Without structural action, the study projected that Italy could lose about 760,000 graduates cumulatively by 2035, along with more than 120 billion euros in educational investment and up to 307 billion euros in potential GDP. Its proposed roadmap includes incentives for competitive pay and stable jobs, an Italy Talent Visa, closer ties between universities, research and companies, measures to attract talent and families to local communities, and a stronger startup and deep-tech ecosystem. The simulations said those policies could bring back up to 119,000 graduates by 2035 and add as much as 11.1 billion euros in annual GDP.

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The most important figure, however, remains the composition of employment growth.