Economy, jobs and prices in Palermo (Sicily, Italy): official figures
GDP per person was 24,800 purchasing power standards (PPS) in 2023, 65% of the EU average (98% for Italy); 85th highest of 107 provinces in Italy.
How big is the economy of Palermo?
The local economy produced €28.7 billion of output (GDP) in 2023.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many people work in Palermo?
About 396,100 people worked in Palermo in 2023 (employment by place of work).
Source: Eurostat · saved copyWhat is the employment rate in Palermo?
The employment rate for people aged 20 to 64 in Palermo was 48.4% in 2024 (37.0% for women), below the national figure of 67.1% and 7th lowest among provinces.
Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copyWhat is the average income in Palermo?
Households in Palermo had €17,078 of disposable income per person in 2023 (23rd lowest in Italy).
Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copyWhat is the average salary in Palermo?
Private-sector employees (outside farming) in Palermo earned an average of €17,911 gross a year in 2023, against €23,630 nationally; that is 28th lowest of 107 provinces.
Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copyWhat is the average pension in Palermo?
Pensioners in Palermo received an average of €19,885 a year in pension income in 2023, compared with €21,737 across Italy.
Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copyWhat is the average declared income in Palermo?
Taxpayers in Palermo declared an average income of €21,994 for 2024, 34th lowest among the 107 provinces; 706,163 returns were filed (national average €25,816).
Source: Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Dipartimento delle Finanze · saved copyHow many high earners live in Palermo?
4.8% of taxpayers in Palermo declared more than €55,000 for 2024 and 0.70% more than €120,000, compared with 5.9% and 0.87% nationally.
Source: Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Dipartimento delle Finanze · saved copyWhat is the main industry in Palermo?
The largest part of the economy of Palermo in 2023 was public administration, education, health and other services, at 31.0% of gross value added, followed by trade, transport, hospitality and communications (28.0%).
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow industrial is Palermo?
Industry (manufacturing, mining and energy) made up 6.6% of output in 2023, against 20.3% for Italy.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow fast is the economy of Palermo growing?
Gross value added rose from €20.3 billion in 2015 to €25.8 billion in 2023 in current prices, an increase of 27% before inflation.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyWhat jobs do people do in Palermo?
Of the 396,100 jobs located in Palermo in 2023, 40% in public services, education, health and other services, 7% in industry and 3.6% in farming, forestry and fishing.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyAre jobs growing in Palermo?
The number of people working in Palermo rose by 6.4% between 2015 and 2023, to 396,100.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyMore figures
- The labour non-participation rate (the unemployed plus people available to work but not looking, as a share of the labour force) in Palermo was 31.2% in 2024, above the national figure of 13.3%. Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copy
- Among young people aged 15 to 29 in Palermo, 17.8% were employed in 2024 and the youth non-participation rate was 54.1% (national figures: 34.4% and 25.7%). Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copy
- Employees in Palermo were paid for 74.0% of a full working year (312 days) on average in 2023, a measure of how stable jobs are (78.9% nationally). Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copy
- There were 12.0 fatal or permanently disabling workplace accidents per 10,000 workers in Palermo in 2022 (above the national figure of 11.0). Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copy
- In 2024, 54% of taxpayers in Palermo declared employment income (average €20,379) and 33% declared pension income (average €21,616). Source: Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Dipartimento delle Finanze · saved copy
How Palermo compares with other provinces in Italy
Disposable household income per person (€) (2023)
Palermo ranks 85 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Disposable household income per person (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 82 | Catania | €17,316 |
| 83 | Siracusa | €17,307 |
| 84 | Oristano | €17,097 |
| 85 | Palermo | €17,078 |
| 86 | Sud Sardegna | €16,944 |
| 87 | Potenza | €16,741 |
| 88 | Napoli | €16,735 |
Average gross annual pay, private-sector employees (€) (2023)
Palermo ranks 80 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Average gross annual pay, private-sector employees (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 77 | Teramo | €18,194 |
| 78 | Avellino | €18,030 |
| 79 | Caltanissetta | €18,015 |
| 80 | Palermo | €17,911 |
| 81 | Rimini | €17,809 |
| 82 | Viterbo | €17,740 |
| 83 | Imperia | €17,682 |
Average declared income per taxpayer (€) (2024)
Palermo ranks 74 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Average declared income per taxpayer (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 71 | Bari | €22,297 |
| 72 | Napoli | €22,290 |
| 73 | Sassari | €22,006 |
| 74 | Palermo | €21,994 |
| 75 | Frosinone | €21,992 |
| 76 | Latina | €21,971 |
| 77 | Chieti | €21,936 |
Employment rate, ages 20-64 (%) (2024)
Palermo ranks 101 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Employment rate, ages 20-64 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 98 | Barletta-Andria-Trani | 50.1% |
| 99 | Trapani | 49.8% |
| 100 | Crotone | 49.2% |
| 101 | Palermo | 48.4% |
| 102 | Cosenza | 46.9% |
| 103 | Caserta | 46.7% |
| 104 | Napoli | 46.4% |
Share of output from industry (manufacturing, mining and energy) (2023)
Palermo ranks 105 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from industry (manufacturing, mining and energy) |
|---|---|---|
| 101 | Agrigento | 8.1% |
| 102 | Nuoro | 8.0% |
| 103 | Cosenza | 7.2% |
| 104 | Imperia | 6.7% |
| 105 | Palermo | 6.6% |
| 106 | Sassari | 6.6% |
| 107 | Reggio Calabria | 5.8% |
Share of output from finance, property and business services (2023)
Palermo ranks 55 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from finance, property and business services |
|---|---|---|
| 52 | Forlì-Cesena | 26.5% |
| 53 | Verona | 26.5% |
| 54 | Udine | 26.4% |
| 55 | Palermo | 26.4% |
| 56 | Novara | 26.4% |
| 57 | Caltanissetta | 26.3% |
| 58 | Parma | 26.3% |
Share of output from public administration, education, health and other services (2023)
Palermo ranks 5 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from public administration, education, health and other services |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Taranto | 33.1% |
| 3 | Nuoro | 33.0% |
| 4 | Catanzaro | 31.8% |
| 5 | Palermo | 31.0% |
| 6 | Trapani | 31.0% |
| 7 | Oristano | 30.9% |
| 8 | Messina | 30.6% |
More on Palermo: overview · health · education and schools · poverty and living standards · government budget · government and politics · Sicily · Italy
Sources
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gdp: GDP per person, PPS (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3bf0fc662f56…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gdp: GDP, million euros (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 096e15e5fdb3…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3empers: Employment, thousand people (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 664e4e3a6dc0…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3empers: Employment (thousand persons) by NUTS 3 region and industry, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 222a97c302d3…)
- Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica): BES dei territori, edizione 2025: well-being indicators for the 107 provinces and metropolitan cities (Indicatori_per_provincia_sesso_ed.2025.xlsx), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 90f90043ad3d…)
- Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Dipartimento delle Finanze: Redditi e principali variabili IRPEF su base comunale, anno d'imposta 2024 (personal income tax returns by municipality), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 75cecc95d72b…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gva: Gross value added at basic prices by NUTS 3 region and industry, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c656e8563bdf…)
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