Owing to the international crisis, Italy's GDP declined in 2008 and continued to fall sharply in the early part of 2009. The abrupt reduction in foreign trade and orders in the autumn of 2008 hit industry first; household consumption also began to decline, but more gradually. The slowdown in lending became more pronounced in the fourth quarter, reflecting both demand factors, connected with the postponement of planned investment and the drop in real-estate transactions, and supply-side factors.
The economic and financial crisis had strong repercussions on the economy of Calabria. The decline in economic activity was steeper than the national average: according to Prometeia estimates, Calabria's GDP fell by 1.8 per cent in 2008. The contraction continued in the first few months of 2009.
In agriculture, production of field crops declined; among orchard crops, only the citrus and olive harvests increased.
The manufacturing sector recorded a progressive worsening of orders and production, whose indicators fell to the lowest levels since 1991; plant capacity utilization declined significantly and investment also diminished.
There was a decrease in construction activity, partly mitigated by the performance of the public works sector.
The value of retail sales was flat, a rise in prices compensating for an appreciable contraction in the volume of sales. After several years of expansion, the number of overnight stays by both Italian and foreign tourists decreased. In the transport sector, transhipment activity through the port of Gioia Tauro leveled off after the surge recorded in 2007, while Lamezia Terme was the only regional airport to see passenger traffic grew.
Employment continued to fall throughout the economy except in services. The decline in the number of workers was concentrated in payroll employment. The employment rate diminished further.
The number of job-seekers rose overall; the increase involved persons with previous work experience, set against a reduction in first-job seekers. There was an increase in the number of non-labour-force participants of working age, three quarters of whom are women. The proportion of off-the-books work in Calabria is the highest among the Italian regions.
In 2008 bank lending slowed both to households and firms.
New mortgage loans to households for house purchases diminished for the first time in ten years, while consumer credit decelerated perceptibly compared with the preceding years.
The rate of growth in lending to firms declined both for small and medium-sized enterprises and for large companies. The slowdown was sharpest for manufacturing and service firms; lending to construction firms decelerated but its growth remained rapid.
Assignments of both performing and non-performing loans gained pace during the year.
Credit quality deteriorated progressively, especially for producer households and manufacturing firms.
Bank funding expanded: the increase in fund-raising from households more than offset the decline in that from firms.
