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Work

Italy's smallest labour market after Valle d'Aosta: public employment and health care, Stellantis plant in Termoli, agri-food, construction. Employment rate below the national average, emigration of young graduates. ZES unica incentives; regional job centres.

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Sectors

Molise has about one hundred thousand people in work. Public administration (Region, local authorities, schools, ASReM) and health care, including the private Neuromed institute in Pozzilli and Gemelli Molise in Campobasso, are the main employers. Private industry concentrates in the Stellantis plant in Termoli (engines and gearboxes, in production transition) and its suppliers, in agri-food in Campobasso, Bojano and Venafro and in some engineering and wood firms. Construction has benefited from post-2002 and post-2018 reconstruction. Retail and summer tourism in Termoli and Alto Molise provide seasonal work.

Employment and migration

The employment rate is below the national average and youth unemployment is high; the regional figure is nevertheless better than Campania, Calabria and Sicily, partly because emigration shrinks the working-age population. SVIMEZ (a research association, not an official source) and ISTAT document for Molise one of the most negative migration balances in the country relative to population, with graduates leaving for Rome, the North and abroad. Many inland residents commute to Campobasso, Isernia or Termoli, or work outside the region (Pescara, Naples, Rome).

Services and incentives

Job centres in Campobasso, Isernia, Termoli and other towns report to the Molise Region, which publishes vacancies and training calls on its website. Molise is part of the ZES unica: tax credit on investments and a single digital authorisation for businesses; conditions and deadlines vary with each budget law. The Region has in the past run schemes to attract residents to small municipalities (grants for those moving their residence), whose calls are intermittent and must be checked directly.

Employment rate (15-64)

Regional figurePeriod: 2025Validsample unknown

Source: ISTAT – Rilevazione sulle forze di lavoro: tasso di occupazione (dataflow 150_915, DCCV_TAXOCCU1)

57.9 %

Unemployment rate (15-74)

Regional figurePeriod: 2025Validsample unknown

Source: ISTAT – Rilevazione sulle forze di lavoro: tasso di disoccupazione (dataflow 151_914, DCCV_TAXDISOCCU1)

6.2 %