Curriculum: Major resignations have increased career gaps.

The wave of major resignations, often made without a job offer, especially among younger people with fewer financial and family burdens, has created increasingly widespread gaps in workers' resumes. LiveCareer analyzed over 7 million resumes created on its platform, finding that periods of inactivity are no longer the exception, but the new normal in the professional world. And not just for women, who previously accounted for the majority of resignations. And perhaps, career breaks or pauses no longer have the negative connotation they once had.

The analysis covers the five-year period between 2020 and 2025, during which hundreds of thousands of resignations occurred, a phenomenon that originated in the United States but has also affected Italy. In 2025, nearly a third of resumes in Italy (32%) show a gap of at least one year. This figure appears to have increased slightly compared to 2022 and demonstrates the impact of this phenomenon, as well as being linked to issues such as professional relocation, resignations due to maternity leave and caregivers, and long-term unemployment.

But how long do gaps last? Half of the resumes that include them show gaps of less than a month. Looking at the positive side of this phenomenon, it can be attributed to an increasingly dynamic labor market characterized by professional mobility, where frequent job changes and flexible working are reshaping people's career paths. However, the gaps aren't always short. In fact, 39% of resumes show gaps of six months or longer, a figure that appears even more worrying.

By 2025, only half of Italian workers will have a seamless CV, a percentage that is declining compared to the past: 51% in 2022 and 61% in 2020. This is also due to the increased female participation in the workforce, which is characterized by more discontinuity than that of men. The increased presence of women in the workforce has thus flanked the traditional, linear career paths that have primarily characterized men's employment with increasingly complex and discontinuous careers, which are no longer viewed as negatively as in the past. This has forced more than one company to revise their CV screening algorithms.

LiveCareer's analysis highlights that long-term career gaps peaked in 2025. Although the numbers decreased slightly in 2024, the consequences of the pandemic continue to weigh on work habits and job stability. "Career breaks are now a reality in today's workplace," explains Jasmine Escalera, career expert for LiveCareer. "Employers should overcome old misconceptions. These breaks often reflect personal growth, the acquisition of new skills, or necessary life changes, not a lack of ambition or ability." Job seekers, however, should value downtime by explaining during the interview process the experiences gained during this period, from freelance work to family caregiving or training, how these activities enriched their skills and provided opportunities for personal growth and development.