The leading national research institutes estimate that regional GDP in Calabria increased by between 0.5 and 1.3 per cent, only partly recouping the previous decrease (2.1 per cent). Growth was led mainly by the construction industry and some branches of the service sector
In agriculture, harvests of all the region’s main crops diminished. In manufacturing, output and orders increased, although levels were still below what entrepreneurs judge to be normal. Expenditure on investment in machinery and equipment was virtually unchanged. The contribution of exports, although only marginal, was positive. In the construction industry, growth was sustained by the expansion in the public works sector and in the property market.
The volume of retail sales declined. The contraction registered by small and medium-sized outlets was partly offset by the rise in turnover of large outlets. Tourism flows in the region increased, but the geographical locations of origin remained limited and stays were concentrated in the summer months. Passenger traffic through regional airports increased by more than a quarter. Transhipment at the port of Gioia Tauro continued to decline as traffic shifted from Italian to Spanish ports.
In 2006 €680 million was allocated under the Regional Operational Plan. Since 2000 the average annual value of payments has totalled 1.4 per cent of GDP, that is 0.4 percentage points higher than for Objective 1 regions.
The labour force, which had diminished in 2005, began to increase once more. There was a decline in the unemployment rate combined with an increase in the participation rate, which remains low for women. Almost one third of people in work in Calabria are illegally employed, the highest proportion in Italy.
Bank credit continued to expand at a fast pace. The increase in lending to the corporate sector was mainly medium and long-term and concerned midsize to large firms. The growth in lending to consumer households was driven above all by consumer credit and mortgage loans.
Credit conditions remained expansionary. Unrecoverable debts increased at a much slower rate than in the previous two years. Including securitization operations undertaken since 2000 the ratio of bad debts to total loans continues to be well above the national average.
The small growth in bank fund-raising can be ascribed above all to consumer households. All forms of saving increased, except banks’ issues of bonds. The average return on current accounts, which had not changed in the previous two years, began to rise. The increase in the value of securities on deposit with the banking system mainly consisted of government paper.
