The autumn update of Economic Developments in the Italian Regions is divided into two parts, an account of the latest cyclical development; followed by a collection of monographic essays.
The cyclical analysis shows that during the first 9 months of 2012 economic activity has decreased in all parts of Italy; in the regions of the South it is now at its lowest since the spring 2009. In the rest of the country, output was partly sustained by the expansion of exports. Even so, export growth slowed in the first half of 2012 in all parts of Italy, including the regions of the Centre, where foreign sales stagnated after nine quarters of buoyancy. Italian manufacturing and service firms' total sales and profitability diminished.
In the first half of 2012 the unemployment rate rose by 2 percentage points in the Centre and North and 4 points in the South, due in part to a significant growth of the labour force. Employment decreased slightly in all parts of the country except the North East, where it remained stable. The number of hours of wage supplementation paid turned back upward, most markedly in the Centre and in the South.
Lending to firms diminished in all regions, while lending to households stagnated. These dynamics were the result of the interplay between declining demand for credit and attenuated stiffening of credit supply conditions.
The monographic studies consist in inquiries on households' consumption, employment conditions for young people, the geographical divide in education, bank-firm relations, households' debt and financial vulnerability, and the investment of Italian municipalities.
