Italy’s public workplace insurer INAIL published its so-called “August figures” on 9 October 2026. Despite the name, they do not cover August alone: they add up all claims filed from January through August 2026. Compared with the same eight months of 2025, the number of workplace accident claims rose, and occupational disease claims rose far more sharply. INAIL stresses that the monthly figures are provisional and may still be revised.
More accidents over eight months
INAIL recorded 285,811 claims for accidents at work, 5.1% more than the 271,976 in the same period of 2025. Commuting accidents rose more sharply: 66,149 claims, +7.0% compared with 61,799. Including 52,849 claims involving pupils and students (+5.2%), the total reaches 404,809 claims, 5.4% more than in 2025. Fatal accidents rose less sharply: 498 at work (versus 488) and 191 while commuting (versus 186). Including twelve fatal accidents among students, against seven the previous year, the total comes to 701 fatal claims, 2.9% more than in 2025.
Occupational diseases rise faster than accidents
The number of occupational disease claims rose far more sharply than accident claims: 74,542 claims, 10,424 more than in 2025, an increase of 16.3%. According to INAIL, the rise is broadly spread compared with the same period in earlier years. It mainly involves disorders of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, the nervous system and hearing, followed by tumours and respiratory diseases. INAIL’s press release offers no explanation for the increase.
Differences between sectors and regions
The sharpest rise in accidents occurred in healthcare and social care (+6.9%), hospitality (+4.1%) and transport and storage (+3.9%). Fatal accidents rose in construction (from 78 to 83) and transport (from 65 to 68), but fell in manufacturing (from 69 to 62) and trade (from 48 to 36). Regionally, claims rose most sharply in the Lazio region around Rome (Italy, +10.0%), Sicily (+9.3%) and Molise (+9.2%). Fatal accidents at work increased most in Lombardy (+9) and Emilia-Romagna (+8), and fell most sharply in Basilicata (-6).
Context
Italy’s figures fit a broader European picture, although the counts are not directly comparable. According to Eurostat figures, as reported by Eunews, there were 3,367 fatal workplace accidents across the whole EU in 2024, 1.4% more than in 2023, while non-fatal accidents fell to around 2.78 million. Eurostat counted 482 fatal accidents in Italy that year, a fatality rate of 2.01 per 100,000 workers and tenth place within the EU. That figure is not directly comparable with the 701 fatal INAIL claims over eight months of 2026: Eurostat excludes commuting accidents and covers a different year, while INAIL counts all claims, including those not yet recognised. The trend does line up: according to provisional INAIL annual figures, Italian accident claims for the whole of 2025 rose slightly, to 597,710 against 589,571 in 2024, while occupational disease claims that year had already risen by 11.3%.
Source: Denunce di infortuni e malattie professionali, i dati Inail di agosto, 09-10-2026
Additionally reviewed: PuntoSicuro: Denunce di infortuni e malattie professionali: i dati di agosto 2026 (page no longer available, 404); Giornale delle PMI: Lavoro, allarme Inail; Eunews: EU workplace deaths rise, Italy ranks tenth with 482 in 2024; BusinessOnline.it: dati Inail 2026
