Economic developments in Sardinia in the year 2005Update

In the first half of 2006 the economy of Sardinia showed signs of growth compared with the previous year. Industrial production intensified, benefiting from the strengthening of domestic and international demand. In the construction sector, after the expansion of the past few years activity weakened as a result of the slowdown in public works. In services, retail sales rose slightly and passenger traffic through the region’s main seaports and airports continued to expand. Both including and excluding petroleum products, export growth in value terms exceeded the national average. The trend of the labour market was positive as a whole: the number of persons in work increased again and the unemployment rate fell. Bank lending grew rapidly, at a slightly higher rate than in 2005; the acceleration was due to lending to firms, while lending to households slowed. The ratio of new bad debts generated in the twelve months ended in June to the stock of loans at the start of the period rose slightly. Bank fund-raising accelerated as a result of the increase in current accounts and repos.