Poverty in Italy rises to unprecedented levels in a decade

4 months ago 14

Absolute poverty indicators for Italy have reached levels not seen in the last decade, despite Italy’s GDP having returned to pre-2007-crisis levels, the Italian National Statistics Institute (ISTAT) said in its annual report published on Wednesday.

According to the latest annual report from ISTAT, Italy’s GDP has returned to the pre-global economic crisis levels of 2007. However, over the past 15 years, Italy has accumulated a growth gap of over 10 points with Spain, 14 with France, and 17 with Germany.

Specifically in terms of poverty, the report points to a rise in absolute poverty, which affects 9.8% of the Italian population – a figure that is around three percentage points higher than in 2014 – while noting that the gap between the wealthiest and least well-off families has widened.

The rise in absolute poverty has mainly affected the working-age population and their children, as the purchasing power of gross wages has fallen sharply.

“Despite observed improvements in the labour market in recent years, Italy retains a very high share of employed individuals in economically vulnerable conditions. Between 2013 and 2023, the purchasing power of gross wages in Italy has decreased by 4.5%, while in the other major economies of the European Union, it has grown at rates ranging from 1.1% in France to 5.7% in Germany,” the report reads.

At the same time, the European Commission revised Italy’s GDP growth for 2024 upwards to 0.9%, surpassing Germany and France in its spring economic forecasts released on Wednesday.

But Italian EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni commented on the now much-discussed super bonus scheme introduced under the second Conte government for COVID relief.

“I want to reassure everyone that we are not facing a ‘Greece risk’. We are dealing with a measure that certainly may have had positive effects, but having spiralled out of control, it has become a dangerous element, and the government is right, in our opinion, to address it,” he said on Wednesday.

(Alessia Peretti | Euractiv.it)