Expanding into
Italy
Expanding to countries such as Italy – which is characterised by a talented and multicultural workforce, multifaceted employment and tax laws, a strong infrastructure network linking to the rest of Europe, and leading sectors in tourism, precision machinery, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electrical goods, and textiles – can bring both excitement to the possibilities, but also significant stress to ensuring the entity with the country’s rigorous legal structures and laws.


Get the Support You Need
Global Expansion is a step to make for any business, regardless of your goal. But the opportunities that can come with an expansion can be stimulating as well as intimidating and confusing, especially when you consider all of the registration procedures that need to be done and the documentation required.
Going at it without the proper support can increase the costs, time and risks involved.
The legwork and potential red tape can be worked through more efficiently and cost-effectively with the support of a Professional Employer Organisation (PEO) such as Bradford Jacobs, primarily through our Employer of Record (EOR) framework.
It can be best utilised when businesses are just beginning their expansion process and require more information before incorporating an entity and fully establishing themselves in that market.
Hiring Staff
in Italy
The economy of Italy is a highly developed market economy. It is the third-largest national economy in the European Union, the eighth largest in the world by nominal GDP, and the 13th-largest by GDP (PPP).
Italy is a founding member of the European Union, the Eurozone, the OECD, the G7 and the G20. It is the tenth-largest exporter in the world, with $632 billion exported in 2019. Its closest trade ties are with the other countries of the European Union, with whom it conducts about 59% of its total trade.
Italy owns the world’s third-largest gold reserve and is the third-largest net contributor to the budget of the European Union. Furthermore, the advanced country private wealth is one of the largest in the world. In terms of private wealth, Italy ranks second, after Hong Kong, in private wealth to GDP ratio.
Italy is a large manufacturer and exporter of a significant variety of products. Its products include machinery, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, furniture, food, and clothing. Italy has therefore a significant trade surplus.
The country is also well known for its influential and innovative business economic sector, an industrious and competitive agricultural sector (Italy is the world’s largest wine producer), and manufacturers of creatively designed, high-quality products: including automobiles, ships, home appliances, and designer clothing. Italy is the largest hub for luxury goods in Europe and the third luxury hub globally.
Despite these important achievements, the country’s economy today suffers from structural and non-structural problems. Annual growth rates have often been below the EU average. Italy was hit particularly hard by the late-2000s recession. Massive government spending from the 1980s onwards has produced a severe rise in public debt.
In addition, Italian living standards have a considerable North–South divide: the average GDP per capita in Northern Italy significantly exceeds the EU average, while some regions and provinces in Southern Italy are significantly below the average. In Central Italy, GDP per capita is instead average. In recent years, Italy’s GDP per capita growth slowly caught-up with the Eurozone average, while its employment rate still lags behind.
Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have a pivotal role in the economy. There are about 4.3 million SMEs in Italy, 95% of which are micro-enterprises. They account for 80% of employment and 70% of value added. Their contribution to exports is larger than in other EU countries (53% of exports in Italy vs an EU average of 40%, and 25% in both France and Germany).
SMEs overall value added in the Italian ‘non-financial business economy’, exceeds the EU average of 56.4%. The share of employment generated by SMEs is even larger, at 78.1%, compared to the EU average of 66.6%. Italian SMEs employ an average of 3.1 people, slightly fewer than the EU average of 3.9.
Average SME labor productivity, calculated as value added per person employed, is approximately €42,000, also somewhat lower than the EU average of €44,600. Micro firms are particularly important in Italy, providing 28.4% of overall value added and 44.9% of overall employment in the ‘non-financial business economy’.
Their productivity is below the average SME labor productivity in Italy, amounting to €31,000 per person employed. This is also below the productivity of micro firms in the EU of €37,000.
Social Security Number
Business Registration Number
VAT Number
Germany, France, United States, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium, Poland, China, and the Netherlands
Hiring Staff
in Italy
Italy is a founding member of the European Union, the Eurozone, the OECD, the G7 and the G20. It is the tenth-largest exporter in the world, with $632 billion exported in 2019. Its closest trade ties are with the other countries of the European Union, with whom it conducts about 59% of its total trade.
Italy owns the world’s third-largest gold reserve and is the third-largest net contributor to the budget of the European Union. Furthermore, the advanced country private wealth is one of the largest in the world. In terms of private wealth, Italy ranks second, after Hong Kong, in private wealth to GDP ratio.
Italy is a large manufacturer and exporter of a significant variety of products. Its products include machinery, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, furniture, food, and clothing. Italy has therefore a significant trade surplus.
The country is also well known for its influential and innovative business economic sector, an industrious and competitive agricultural sector (Italy is the world’s largest wine producer), and manufacturers of creatively designed, high-quality products: including automobiles, ships, home appliances, and designer clothing. Italy is the largest hub for luxury goods in Europe and the third luxury hub globally.
Despite these important achievements, the country’s economy today suffers from structural and non-structural problems. Annual growth rates have often been below the EU average. Italy was hit particularly hard by the late-2000s recession. Massive government spending from the 1980s onwards has produced a severe rise in public debt.
In addition, Italian living standards have a considerable North–South divide: the average GDP per capita in Northern Italy significantly exceeds the EU average, while some regions and provinces in Southern Italy are significantly below the average. In Central Italy, GDP per capita is instead average. In recent years, Italy’s GDP per capita growth slowly caught-up with the Eurozone average, while its employment rate still lags behind.
SMEs overall value added in the Italian ‘non-financial business economy’, exceeds the EU average of 56.4%. The share of employment generated by SMEs is even larger, at 78.1%, compared to the EU average of 66.6%. Italian SMEs employ an average of 3.1 people, slightly fewer than the EU average of 3.9.
Average SME labor productivity, calculated as value added per person employed, is approximately €42,000, also somewhat lower than the EU average of €44,600. Micro firms are particularly important in Italy, providing 28.4% of overall value added and 44.9% of overall employment in the ‘non-financial business economy’.
Their productivity is below the average SME labor productivity in Italy, amounting to €31,000 per person employed. This is also below the productivity of micro firms in the EU of €37,000.
Social Security Number
Business Registration Number
VAT Number
The Main Sectors of the Italian Economy
The country focuses on the following key sectors, which all have a significant impact on the country’s economy:
The Main Sectors of the Italian Economy
The country focuses on the following key sectors, which all have a significant impact on the country’s economy:

Commercial Laws in
Italy
Commercial Laws in
Italy
