Italy has a high unemployment rate, up to 50 percent in some areas. One of many complicated factors affecting the unemployment rate is that Italians tend to enter the work force at an older age, for example, graduating from university at age 28, then finishing an unpaid internship at the age of 31. They take longer to find jobs and tend not to leave those jobs once they have them.

As a result of this “labor inflexibility,” many Italians turn to more flexible but illegal (undocumented) work (lavoro nero). Because the process of hiring someone and completing all of the paper work is time-consuming, expensive and complicated, some companies prefer this way of working and many Italians and expatriates are employed entirely illegally and their incomes are never reported to the government. In some cases, a portion of the work may be paid legally and a portion illegally.

Who one knows can be more important than what one knows when doing business in Italy. It is best to try to do business with the highest possible level in the Italian organization and then expect changes. Maintaining relationships that are mutually beneficial over time can be more important than the details of any one business deal.

This is just a sample of what you'll find in the complete Italy guide.