Executive Search in Italy – 2021 Outlook

Shaky Government Adds to Woes

The political outlook is not the best as the activity in Parliament doesn’t reflect the real sentiment of the population. A Center-Left coalition supporting the government is in disarray after the resignation of prime minister Giuseppe Conte (who continues in a caretaker capacity). This situation may bring the country to face anticipated elections in 2021 instead 2023, with an unknown impact on the economy.

The growth estimates for ending 2020 are around -9.1% at the start of the new year. The first quarter 2021 is expected to be -0.4% to arrive at +4.8% against a +6.2 % forecast in September. This is because of the impact of the pandemic and the difficulties in implementing the Next Generation EU Plan. Economic activity is expected to improve in mid Summer 2021.

Public investment will be at +3.4% GDP in 2023 (last year it was 2.2%). The Next Generation EU Plan will give a 0.3% boost to growth with a cumulative positive impact of 1.2% .

The business sectors which are and will be more impacted are mainly Hotel & Tourism, Entertainment, Ground & Air Transportation, Fashion & Luxury.  No impact is expected for Industrial, Aerospace, Banking & Finance and Insurance. Business as Computer & Telco as well as Medical & Pharma are expected to improve.

In general, the opportunities for Executive Search and HR Consulting are expected to go ahead without any important impact.

Contact the author Guiseppe Campellone at Giuseppe-Campellone@cornerstone-group.com

For information on executive search services in Italy, visit Cornerstone Rome