2024 saw a record number of underage workers in Italy: 80,991 between the ages of 15 and 17. A number that continues to increase and reveals a social emergency above all.
This is what emerges from the latest UNICEF report released on the occasion of the World Day against Child Labour.
Among the regions, Sardinia is one of the territories where the phenomenon presents the highest numbers . In fact, on the Island the percentage of minors who work is 6.2% of the total under 18, the fifth most significant figure - identical to that of Puglia - after Trentino Alto Adige (21.63%), Valle D'Aosta (15.34%), Abruzzo (8.46%) and Marche (7.57%).
The President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella also spoke on the child labor emergency: "It is estimated that over 160 million minors in the world are still involved in forms of work that put their health at risk, hindering their development and violating their freedom." The Head of State also recalled that our Constitution, in articles 31 and 34, "clearly affirms the Republic's duty to protect childhood and guarantee the right to education."
According to Unicef data, in the post-Covid-19 years, Italy has seen a progressive increase in both employed and self-employed minor workers: 51,845 in 2021; 69,601 in 2022; 78,530 in 2023. Up to the record in 2024.
The increase is also recorded for workers under 19 years of age: in 2023 there were 415,495 (divided between 258 thousand males and 157 thousand females), compared to 377,440 in 2022 and 310,400 in 2021. With an increase of +35% from 2019 to 2023. These are young people "often invisible, forced to carry out dangerous jobs to survive", underlined Mattarella .
Unicef also reels off data on accident reports by workers between 15 and 17 years old. The numbers speak for themselves: the number rose from 5,816 in 2020 to 18,825 in 2023, with six fatal accidents in the same age group in the five-year period 2019-2023.
