In Italy, enterprises are increasingly hiring, particularly in the tourist, trade, food, and construction industries, but nearly half of professional positions are difficult to fill, owing to a lack of candidates. Companies have scheduled approximately 315 thousand employment contracts with a duration of more than one month or indefinite in August, 22 thousand more than in August 2023 (+7.5%). The dynamic is positive even when we broaden our focus to the August-October quarter, with 1.3 million planned hires, 30 thousand more than in the same period of 2023 (+2.3%). However, the difficulty in finding the profiles sought by companies has increased to 48.9%. This is highlighted by the Bulletin produced by Unioncamere and the Ministry of Labour, according to which in August companies complained of difficulties in covering about 154 thousand planned hires (48.9% of the total), with the prevailing cause being "lack of candidates" (32.4%) and "inadequate preparation" (12.3%). The most difficult professions to find include cosmetic care operators (80.1%), specialist professionals in charge of finishing structures, foundries, welders, tinsmiths, boilermakers, metal carpentry fitters, engineering technicians, and health technicians. According to Andrea Prete, president of Unioncamere, this condition is caused by a "misalignment between training courses and the needs of the production system".