The U.S. Labor Market in 2026: What Employers Need to Know

Why Italian companies build U.S. teams

The United States is now Italy's second-largest export market after Germany. According to Istat, the U.S. took 10.4% of Italian goods exports in 2025, and those exports grew 7.2% year on year, even as U.S. tariffs rose. Germany's and Spain's exports to the U.S. fell by more than 9% over the same period. Italy's goods trade surplus with the U.S. was about 34.2 billion euros in 2025. For many Italian mid-sized manufacturers, the U.S. is now where much of their growth sits.

Investment has followed trade. Italy's direct investment position in the U.S. reached $54.7 billion in 2024, up from $37.0 billion in 2020 (SelectUSA/BEA data). SelectUSA ranks Italy as the tenth fastest-growing source of FDI in the U.S. The most frequent Italian project types are industrial equipment, energy, food and beverages, electronic components, software and IT services, and metals.

The typical reasons to hire locally

• Service and uptime. U.S. customers expect installation, commissioning and after-sales support within hours or days, not a technician flown in from Italy two weeks later.
• Tariffs and "local content". Assembling, finishing or manufacturing in the U.S. can reduce tariff exposure and make you eligible for U.S. customers' domestic-sourcing programs.
• Commercial reach. U.S. buyers want a local contact who knows U.S. procurement, liability and standards (UL, OSHA, FDA).
• Visa limits. L-1 and E-2 visas cannot staff a whole organization. See Immigration. Cygic does not provide visa services, but works alongside immigration attorneys when a mixed team is needed.
• Acquisitions. Buying a U.S. company means retaining or upgrading its management team.

The 2026 labor market in numbers

The U.S. labor market in 2026 is best described as "low hire, low fire". Unemployment is still low by historical standards, but job switching has slowed sharply compared with the 2021 to 2022 "Great Resignation". Generic roles attract more applicants, but the best people are staying put.

Key figures (latest available, October 2026)

• Unemployment: 4.2% in September 2026, up from 4.1% in August.
• Payrolls: +29,000 jobs in September 2026, after a revised +133,000 in August; the average over the previous 12 months is about 45,000 per month. July and August were revised down by a combined 60,000.
• Benchmark revision: the preliminary annual revision cut March 2025 to March 2026 employment by only 79,000, far less than the prior two years (598,000 and 898,000). According to the CEPR analysis, manufacturing lost about 135,000 jobs (about 1.1%) over those 12 months after revision.
• Job openings (JOLTS): 7.1 million in August 2026, an openings rate of 4.3%.
• Hires: 5.2 million (3.3% rate). Quits: 3.1 million (1.9% rate). Layoffs: 1.6 million (1.0%).
• Wages: average hourly earnings of private employees reached $37.81, up 3.0% over the year.
• Manufacturing: +9,000 jobs in September 2026 and +72,000 since December 2025 (BLS).

How to read these numbers

A quits rate below 2% means few employed people are resigning voluntarily (it peaked near 3% in 2022). The strongest engineers, plant managers and sales leaders are not browsing job boards. Candidates who do move expect a 10% to 20% jump.

The picture for 2025 to 2026 is uneven. Healthcare, energy, data-center construction and parts of advanced manufacturing are hiring; federal government, some tech and automotive have cut. Many manufacturers paused headcount in 2025 and restarted selectively in 2026.

Regions and labor costs

The U.S. is not one labor market but dozens. State and metro drive salaries, employer taxes, non-compete rules and the talent pool. The table below uses the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for May 2025. It shows the mean hourly wage across all occupations in each metro, compared with the national mean of $33.54 (national median $24.51 an hour, or roughly $51,000 a year).

These indexes reflect the mix of jobs in each area as well as pay levels, so they are a guide, not a like-for-like quote. Trades pay varies strongly by metro; senior sales and executive pay less so, because those people are recruited nationally. For role-level pay data, see Compensation.

The main hubs at a glance

• NY/NJ: the natural home for fashion, luxury, food import and pharma commercial teams. High cost, and New York and New Jersey require pay ranges in job postings.
• Chicago and the Midwest manufacturing belt (Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin): deep pools of machinists, maintenance technicians, controls engineers and plant managers. Wages outside Chicago are often below the national mean.
• The Southeast (Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee): the fastest-growing manufacturing region, with automotive, batteries, building materials and machinery. Lower costs and "right-to-work" laws (union membership cannot be required), but intense competition for trades among new plants.
• Texas: no state income tax, strong energy and industrial base, large corporate relocations to Dallas and Austin. Houston is the energy-equipment capital.
• California: the highest cost and most complex compliance (daily overtime, strict wage-statement and meal-break rules, non-competes void). Best for tech, medtech, fashion and wine.
• Florida: no state income tax, a gateway to Latin America, strong in marine, luxury retail and food distribution. Talent for heavy industrial roles is thinner.

Where Italian companies invest

Machinery and automation

Packaging machines, machine tools, plastics and food-processing equipment, robotics and industrial automation form the backbone of Italian presence in the U.S. Subsidiaries usually start with sales and a service hub, then add assembly. Hardest to fill: field service technicians who troubleshoot PLCs, drives and mechanics, and engineers who can sell complex capital goods.

Food and beverage

Pasta, coffee, cheese, cured meats, wine, confectionery and olive oil. Key roles: national account managers for retail and food-service chains, trade marketing, plant managers and food-safety leads who know FDA and FSMA rules.

Fashion and luxury

New York is the commercial hub, with Miami and Los Angeles for retail and clienteling. Roles: wholesale directors, retail area managers, e-commerce and CRM leads, and store directors. Competition comes from French and American luxury groups.

Pharma and medtech

Pharmaceuticals were the main driver of Italy's export growth in 2025, contributing 2.5 of the 3.3 percentage points of total growth according to Istat. U.S. teams need regulatory, quality (FDA), medical affairs and key account managers, mostly in New Jersey, Boston and North Carolina's Research Triangle.

Automotive, energy and construction materials

• Automotive suppliers cluster in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama. Auto employment is under pressure, but launch and quality engineers still command premiums.
• Energy (power transmission, renewables, grid equipment, oil and gas components): Texas, the Southeast and the Midwest. Demand driven by data centers and grid upgrades is pushing up pay for electrical engineers and technicians.
• Construction materials (ceramics, tiles, cement, stone, adhesives): Tennessee, for example, hosts a cluster of Emilia-Romagna tile makers who chose it for local raw materials. They need plant managers, process engineers and building-products sales reps.

Tariffs, reshoring and hiring

U.S. trade policy has changed several times since 2025, and it remains in flux. In short:

1. 2025: the administration imposed broad "reciprocal" tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), plus sector tariffs under Section 232 (steel, aluminum, autos and parts, copper and others). The EU and U.S. agreed a framework in summer 2025 with a 15% ceiling on most EU goods.
2. February 2026: the Supreme Court held that IEEPA does not authorize these tariffs. The administration replaced them with temporary Section 122 tariffs, which by law can last only 150 days. Importers are pursuing refunds of IEEPA duties.
3. July 24, 2026: Section 122 tariffs expired and new Section 301 tariffs took effect for about 60 economies. According to law firm alerts, EU goods are charged in a way that brings the combined rate to about 10% (net of the normal MFN duty), while China faces far higher rates. Goods under Section 232 (steel, aluminum, copper derivatives, vehicles and parts, wood products, semiconductors) keep their separate sector tariffs.

Check the current rate for your HTS codes with a customs broker or trade counsel before any decision. Litigation and new investigations can change it quickly.

What this means for hiring

• Reshoring is real but selective. The Reshoring Initiative counted about 244,000 U.S. jobs announced through reshoring and foreign direct investment in 2025. Announcements take two to four years to become hires.
• Local assembly and service first. Italian machinery and component makers are often moving final assembly, customization and spare parts to the U.S. rather than whole factories.
• Commercial teams under pressure. Sales leaders who can defend price with value are in demand.
• Competition for the same people. New plants in the Southeast and Midwest all hire from the same pools.

Where talent is scarce

The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte estimate that U.S. manufacturers will need as many as 3.8 million new workers by 2033, and that about 1.9 million of those jobs could go unfilled if the skills gap is not addressed. The shortage is most acute in skilled trades, engineering (especially controls and automation), field service (roles with 50% to 80% travel), plant management (people who have run a U.S. plant with OSHA, quality and labor-relations responsibility) and technical sales with an existing network in your vertical.

Ranges are indicative base salaries for experienced hires in 2026, drawn from BLS OEWS medians for the trades and from recent market practice for professional roles. They vary by region, industry and seniority. Verify current figures for your location and role before making an offer; see Compensation.

Candidates: speed, expectations, perception

Time-to-fill

As a practical guide, based on current market practice (not an official statistic):

• Skilled trades and technicians: 3 to 8 weeks, but longer in hot Southeast and Midwest markets.
• Engineers and field service: 6 to 12 weeks.
• Sales managers and plant managers: 8 to 16 weeks, including notice.
• General manager or executive: 3 to 6 months from kickoff to start date.

U.S. notice periods are short: two weeks is the norm, even for managers. That is far shorter than Italian preavviso, but the search itself takes longer.

What candidates expect

• Salary: a clear base salary, a bonus or commission plan with written rules, and in many states a posted pay range. People moving jobs expect 10% to 20% more.
• Remote or hybrid work: sales, engineering and many management roles are expected to be hybrid or home-based with travel. Plant, service and trades roles are on site. Be explicit in the offer.
• Benefits: medical, dental and vision coverage from day one or after a short waiting period, a 401(k) with employer match, and paid time off (typically 15 to 20 days plus holidays for professionals).
• Titles: U.S. titles are inflated compared with Italy. A "Director" in the U.S. is often the equivalent of an Italian responsabile di funzione.
• A fast process: three to four interview steps over two to four weeks. Candidates drop out when the process stalls for "approval from Italy" or when headquarters asks for a new round of interviews in August.

How U.S. candidates perceive Italian brands

The Italian brand is generally a strong asset: design, quality, engineering heritage and a family-owned culture are attractive, especially to candidates tired of private-equity pressure. The concerns: slow decisions, limited local authority, an unreachable headquarters in August, below-market pay and unclear careers. Address them openly in interviews. See Culture.

Counteroffers and retention

In a low-quits market, employers fight to keep good people. When a strong candidate resigns, a counteroffer is likely: a raise, a retention bonus, a promotion or a new title.

How to reduce counteroffer risk

• Ask early, and again before the offer: "What would your employer do to keep you?" and "What would make you stay?"
• Make the motivation about more than money: scope, authority, product, growth, stability.
• Move quickly from final interview to written offer (ideally 48 to 72 hours).
• Consider a sign-on bonus to cover unvested bonuses or 401(k) match the candidate will lose, usually with a repayment clause if they leave within 12 months.

Keeping the people you hire

At-will employment (either side may end the relationship at any time, without cause and without statutory severance) means retention is a management task, not a legal one. Use annual merit raises, milestone retention bonuses, clear promotion paths and exposure to headquarters. Non-compete agreements are now restricted or void in several states (void in California; barred in Illinois below set income thresholds; limited elsewhere), so do not rely on them. See Compliance and Exits.

Why targeted recruiting wins in this market

Posting a job on LinkedIn or Indeed brings applicants. It rarely brings the right ones. In 2026, the people Italian companies most need (a field service engineer who knows packaging lines, a plant manager who has launched a greenfield site, a sales director with relationships at the top 20 U.S. food retailers) are employed, well paid and not looking. They are "passive candidates". They must be identified by name, approached directly and convinced.

What direct sourcing means in practice

1. Map the companies that employ the exact profile: competitors, customers, adjacent industries, U.S. subsidiaries of other European groups.
2. Identify individuals by role, experience and industry exposure, not by keywords alone.
3. Approach them confidentially by phone, email and LinkedIn with a clear story about the company, the role and the upside.
4. Qualify for skills, motivation, compensation, relocation and counteroffer risk before they meet you.
5. Present a short list of three to five comparable candidates, and manage the process through the offer and resignation.

Recruiter models and fees

Guarantees (a free replacement if the hire leaves early) are common. For how a search works, see Hiring in the U.S..

Practical guides

Frequently asked questions