The Italian construction sector has entered a new phase of structural transformation. Following the exceptional expansion generated by the post-pandemic recovery and by fiscal incentives for building renovation, construction activity has stabilised at historically high levels. Rather than returning to pre-crisis conditions, the sector appears to have reached what CRESME defines as a new plateau of construction investment, characterised by sustained production volumes and a gradual rebalancing of demand between public investment, renovation and new construction. This suggests that the recent expansion has not merely represented a temporary cyclical peak but has helped establish a new structural level of activity for the sector.
The Italian construction sector has entered a new phase of structural transformation. Following the exceptional expansion generated by the post-pandemic recovery and by fiscal incentives for building renovation, construction activity has stabilised at historically high levels. Rather than returning to pre-crisis conditions, the sector appears to have reached what CRESME defines as a new plateau of construction investment, characterised by sustained production volumes and a gradual rebalancing of demand between public investment, renovation and new construction. This suggests that the recent expansion has not simply represented a temporary cyclical peak but has contributed to establishing a new structural level of activity for the sector.
The current phase differs significantly from previous construction cycles. Growth is no longer driven exclusively by residential expansion, but increasingly reflects the combined effects of public infrastructure investment, the renovation of the existing building stock, energy efficiency measures and the growing technological complexity of buildings and infrastructures. These dynamics are reshaping both construction demand and the organisation of production across the entire value chain. At the same time, the construction sector itself is undergoing a profound technological transformation. Buildings are progressively evolving from conventional physical assets into integrated technical systems, where structural components, building envelope, mechanical and electrical installations, digital infrastructure and energy management technologies operate as a single functional system. Construction is progressively moving away from a traditional sequence of separate phases – design, procurement, construction and operation – towards increasingly integrated processes supported by digital information, advanced planning tools and lifecycle management. Digital technologies are playing a central role in this transformation. Building Information Modelling (BIM), digital twins, artificial intelligence, parametric modelling and digital monitoring systems increasingly support design, construction planning, site management and asset operation. At the same time, construction sites are gradually becoming more connected and data-driven environments through the use of sensors, digital monitoring, predictive maintenance and automated quality control systems. These technologies improve productivity, reduce uncertainty and enable more effective coordination throughout the construction process. Alongside digitalisation, the sector is experiencing a gradual process of industrialisation. Growing pressure to improve productivity, reduce construction times, increase quality and control costs is accelerating the adoption of modern methods of construction and refurbishment (MMCR), including off-site manufacturing, dry construction systems and increasingly standardised production processes. While construction will remain a locally rooted activity, constrained by site conditions and the characteristics of existing buildings, industrialised production methods are expected to play an increasingly important role in those market segments where repeatability, quality control and process integration can generate significant efficiency gains. According to the latest estimates, in 2026 construction output is evaluated at €292 billion (at 2025 prices), with the largest share represented by the residential segment, with the still extremely high level of renovation (€208 billion, including both current and extraordinary repair), despite the decline recently recorded. The second segment is non-residential building (including both public and private segments), while civil engineering stands as the third market. Including public non-residential building, the segment of public works stands as the second biggest Italian construction segment.
In Italy, the growing importance of maintenance, renovation and the upgrading of the existing building stock has been even more pronounced than in the European market as a whole. In the national market, the physiological drivers of renovation activity, linked to three recurrent needs, namely the adaptation of building systems, the functional improvement of spaces and the enhancement of energy performance, were further strengthened by incentive schemes, which reached exceptional scale with the Superbonus. In 2022–2023 repair and maintenance activity, including both extraordinary and current repair, accounted for 77% of total construction output.
Table 1: Employment in Construction by Age Group
In Thousands
| Year | 15-34 years | 35-49 years | 50-64 years | Total (15-64) | Total (15-89) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 710 | 846 | 353 | 1,909 | 1,947 |
| 2019 | 258 | 593 | 442 | 1,293 | 1,319 |
| 2022 | 306 | 618 | 587 | 1,511 | 1,551 |
| 2023 | 310 | 591 | 592 | 1,494 | 1,531 |
| 2024* | 322 | 623 | 616 | 1,561 | 1,616 |
Federal investment in roads, railways and waterways
Recent data indicate that employment in the Italian construction sector reached between 1.7 and 1.9 million workers during the first quarter of 2026, corresponding to more than 7% of total national employment, compared with approximately 6% in 2019. More importantly, however, employment growth has not been evenly distributed across construction activities. The evolution of persons employed by construction companies by specialisation reveals a profound reorganisation of the construction value chain. The strongest growth has been recorded in infrastructure activities, supported by public investment programmes, and in installation activities related to mechanical, electrical, energy and telecommunications systems. Conversely, more traditional construction activities and several finishing trades have experienced a relative slowdown following the conclusion of the extraordinary renovation cycle associated with the Superbonus programme.
The growing importance of installation activities represents one of the clearest indicators of the ongoing technological transformation of the sector. Their share of total construction employment increased from approximately 27% to 35%, reflecting the increasing integration of energy systems, mechanical and electrical installations, digital infrastructure and automation technologies within contemporary construction projects. This shift is not simply changing the occupational structure of the sector; it reflects a broader transformation of the built product itself. Buildings are increasingly conceived as integrated systems in which structural components, building envelope, technical installations and digital technologies operate together to achieve energy efficiency, environmental performance and operational intelligence.
“Over time it has become increasingly difficult to find workers with the right qualifications.”
The transformation of production processes is generating equally significant changes in labour demand. Construction companies are increasingly reporting difficulties in recruiting adequately qualified workers: the share of firms reporting recruitment difficulties rose from 22% to 63% between 2017 and 2025. The main reason for these difficulties is the lack of candidates, which in 2025 concerned 214,000 planned recruitments out of a total of around 548,000. At the same time, the number of workers requiring reskilling or upskilling is also significant (about 110,000 in 2025). These difficulties affect occupations that combine traditional construction competences with digital, technological and installation skills. The shortage no longer concerns only manual trades but increasingly affects intermediate technical occupations that play a critical role in coordinating industrialised construction processes and integrating different building systems.
Within this context, one of the main challenges facing the Italian construction sector is not simply increasing the availability of labour, but ensuring that the workforce possesses the competences required by an industry undergoing rapid technological transformation.
