Listen to the audio version of the article
The fourteenths are arriving: between the second half of June and the first of July, approximately 8 million Italian employees will receive the additional monthly payment, with an average amount of 1,500 euros and a total amount close to 12 billion. This is estimated by Confesercenti, based on a survey conducted by Ipsos on employees who receive their fourteenth salary. A substantial injection of liquidity, observes Confesercenti, of which more than half (6.4 billion euros) will be allocated to consumption. 95% of those who receive it have already planned how to use it and 25% – one in four – plan to spend it all immediately as soon as they receive it. Some savings to replenish, some bills to pay. But also many small desires to be fulfilled, from fashion to holidays, passing through the home, indicates the confederation. For the approximately 4 million tertiary, distribution and service employees, the one-off payment provided for by the renewals of the contracts signed in March is added: almost 600 million euros more which will be paid in July.
Where will the money go
The survey divided expenditure into savings and mandatory expenditure and consumption. Of the total sum of the fourteenths, approximately 2.1 billion should be allocated to investments (900 million) and savings (1.2 billion), also aimed at future expenditure, including the purchase of a new car and a trip long range. Mandatory expenses, on the other hand, amount to 3.5 billion: 1.9 billion are outstanding accounts, in many cases bills, but also mortgages and loans. The calculation of obligatory expenses also includes approximately 900 million for healthcare costs – especially related to dental problems – and 700 million for other family reasons, among which the item of summer camps for children stands out. As for consumption, the remaining 6.4 billion will instead be used by Italians to purchase goods and services for themselves and their families.
The holiday segment
Starting from holidays, the most popular desire: 36% of those interviewed will use the extra month’s salary to travel alone or with their family, and to these is added a 5% who will finance their children’s study holidays. Long-haul trips are the most desired: in particular, the responses of those interviewed reveal a strong interest in Asian destinations, with Japan first and foremost. They will also spend on the house: 20% intend to finance small renovations or buy furniture and accessories. A slightly lower share – 19% – will use the additional monthly payment to purchase clothing and accessories during the summer sales, starting on the first Saturday in July. 16%, however, will purchase other goods and services, among which technological devices stand out – especially tablets and TVs – but also training courses and master’s degrees.
A boost for families
«After a slower than expected spring in terms of consumption, the fourteenths could provide an important boost to family spending», comments Patrizia De Luise, president of Confesercenti. «The overall amount of incoming liquidity is growing, thanks to the increase in employment and, in part, to the process of renewing national contracts. A process which, however, in this phase is still objectively difficult for many companies, should be supported. We continue to propose to act through fiscal leverage, with the tax relief of salary increases provided for by the renewals of national contracts: a measure that would facilitate renewals and would make a positive contribution to the purchasing power and consumption of Italians”, she concludes.
