Economic activity in Calabria slowed during 2005. The leading national research institutes estimate that regional GDP diminished at constant prices by between 1 and 2.7 per cent.
In agriculture, volumes of the region’s two main crops – olives and citrus fruit – were unchanged after the boom of 2004.
In manufacturing, output diminished. Expenditure on investments in machinery and equipment was reduced, partly owing to uncertainty about the evolution of demand. The construction industry benefited from the increase in public works, with considerable progress being made on the section of the Salerno-Reggio Calabria motorway running through the region. The property market saw an increase in both prices and transactions.
In the tourist industry, there was no change in the number of overnight stays, which had been increasing since 2001. Passenger traffic through regional airports diminished. There was a drop in transhipment at the port of Gioia Tauro, no longer the first Mediterranean port for container movement. The volume of retail sales dropped for the third year running, while the number of large retail outlets continued to grow slowly. The contribution of exports, although only marginal, was negative.
In 2005 the Regional Operational Plan moved forward with a substantial increase in the amount both of funds allocated and of payments effected.
The labour force contracted owing to the simultaneous decrease in the number of job-seekers and of persons in work. The unemployment rate rose slightly overall and more sharply among young people. There was an increase in the population classified as non-active or unavailable to work, while the participation rate among the working-age population declined. The number of hours of ordinary benefits paid by the Wage Equalisation Fund doubled.
Bank credit expanded at a faster rate than the national average. Lending to consumer households was driven by the growth in mortgages and consumer credit. The majority of lending to the corporate sector was medium and long-term and concerned midsize to large firms. The banks maintained expansionary credit conditions and there was a further increase in unused margins on short-term credit lines, which had already widened considerably in previous years. Securitization operations or sales without recourse involved over half the value of non-performing loans. There was a small increase in unrecoverable debts.
The small downturn in bank fund-raising can be ascribed mainly to consumer households. Both current accounts and repos increased, while banks’ issues of bonds declined. The average return on current accounts remained unchanged. After declining for two years, the value of securities on deposit with the banking system began to rise once more.
