According to the latest ISTAT data in 2024, hourly wages for employees grew by 3.1% over the previous year: increases were higher than average in industry and private services, where wages rose by 4.6% and 3.4%, respectively; in the agricultural sector the increase was 1.3%, while among public sector employees wages remained the same on average. This is good news, and ISTAT itself called this growth "a first noticeable improvement" after years when general price increases had made those on fixed incomes poorer. In fact, 2024 was the first year since 2020 in which average wages returned to grow more than the cost of living: wages rose 3.1%, while inflation averaged 1%. It means that workers in Italy gained purchasing power last year, and they could make and buy more things in December than they could just 12 months earlier.