Wednesday 12 June 2024 – Presented in Potenza by director of the Bankitalia branch, Gerardo Sansonethe quarterly report onLucanian economy which will slow down in 2023: it increased by 0.5% compared to 0.7% in the South and 0.9% nationally.
For Samson a slowdown due to decline in the construction and mining sectors.
The most significant minus sign in the industrial added value which contracted by 1.6%, although companies were able to benefit from the reduction in the cost of energy and fewer difficulties in supplying other production inputs.
In the automotive sectoralthough production at the Stellantis plant in Melfi has increased slightly, internal and external sales remain limited.
internal and external sales remain limited.
Another data that confirms the slowdown of the Lucanian economy in 2023 is the chalo in oil and gas production which – said Sansone – will lead to a reduction in royalties of 20 million euros.
Decreased investments by industrial companiesaffected by the worsening of the economic situation, the increase in interest rates and the conditions of access to credit which have become more restrictive.
In buildings added value continued to grow, although less intensely than in the previous two years.
Decline in home sales (minus 9.4%), while the public Works benefited from the progress of spending for the implementation of the Pnrr interventions.
Samson referred to the loss of human capital in the regionwhich affects both the numbers of the workforce and those of education regarding university enrollments”.
As regards theoccupationin 2023 it grew by 2.9 percent, especially in the service and construction sectors, and the job offer also grew by 3.3 percent.
As regards the Pnrr, the encouraging data coming from the Lucanian administrations have launched tenders for 870 million euros, approximately 60 percent of the resources to be announced; between November 2021 and February 2024, construction sites were opened for an amount of 40 percent of the tenders awarded and seven percent of those started were concluded.
There was then a contraction of 0.3 percent in real terms disposable incomewith an improvement in the last months of the year due to the decline in inflation.
The disposable income of Lucanian families also contracted, also caused by the increase in prices which slowed down consumption.
Director Sansone also referred to the downsizing of the regional network of bank branches (6 units less than in 2022). Over the last ten years, the number of branches in relation to residents has decreased in Basilicata by 22%.
From the analysis of Bankitalia two positive data on the Lucanian economy in 2023: the added value in the construction sector (+3.2 percent), although less intense than the previous year due to the lesser use of tax incentives for energy efficiency and the decline in home sales; growth of 14.4 percent in tourist presences.
COMMENTS
Fernardo Mega (regional secretary of CGIL Bsilicata)
“The photograph taken by the Bank of Italy on the Lucanian economy is not surprising. For months we have been denouncing the stalemate of the regional government which is still more concerned with the division of seats than with the interests of the Lucanians.
In fact, we would most likely have to wait for the result of the ballot in the Municipality of Potenza to finally have the new regional council.
As reported for some time by the CGIL – says Mega – the decline in the automotive and oil extraction sectors is worrying, but even in tourism there is not the desired recovery, especially in the city of Matera. In the absence of alternative industrial policies, which also take into account climate change and the ecological transition, without investments in the training of new workers and in innovation, a far from rosy future is expected for Basilicata, where depopulation looms.
The alarm launched by the Bank of Italy – continues Mega – does nothing but confirm our continuous complaints: in the coming years, participation in the labor market could be strongly affected by the very marked decline in the population and the increase in the average age . Another highly negative aspect concerns the expenditure of Pnrr resources.
The Bank of Italy tells us that the public implementers for interventions in Basilicata are almost double the national average at a per capita level. L
and administrations have launched tenders in the 2020-23 period for an amount equal to 60 percent of the resources to be tendered but of these just under two thirds have been awarded, in addition to the fact that the progressive reduction of personnel, especially in healthcare, could hinder the strengthening of territorial assistance envisaged by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). This further clouds the already unclear picture of Lucanian healthcare, over which the specter of commissionership looms.
Nonetheless, – concludes Mega – the Bardi government continues to postpone the formation of the council, as if the problems of Basilicata could wait”.
Vincenzo Cavallo (regional secretary of CISL Basilicata)
“The Bank of Italy’s report confirms that the Lucanian economy still presents significant structural ballasts that slow down its growth potential, starting from the progressive loss of human capital due to the haemorrhage of young people who choose to study and work in other regions” .
Cavallo also highlights the strong dependence of the regional economy on the performance of a few large multinational companies.
Despite a positive picture of employment growth – adds the CISL secretary – the Bank of Italy’s diagnosis provides an accurate x-ray of an economic system that appears unable to fully exploit its potential without a strong industrial policy direction.
The 3 percent growth of employed people, which concerns low-skilled profiles, with low incomes and often not on permanent contracts, makes it necessary to make a pact for the quality of work together with the employers in the belief that the quality of work will be increasingly higher. the only barrier to deal with the flight of human capital.
Hence the need for the next regional council to implement measures aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, which in a mature economy represent an element of stabilization of the economic cycle, as well as interventions aimed at strengthening the knowledge and to support youth employment, starting from internal areas. The proposals that the CISL launched during the election campaign go in this direction for a great social pact that links the energy and digital transitions to the growth of the local production system and the development of new and more advanced participation and bargaining practices to fully valorise the contribution of workers to the future of this region”.
Vincenzo Tortorelli (regional secretary of Uil Basilicata)
“It will certainly not be the increase, from the telephone prefix, of the regional economy (plus 0.5%) recorded in 2023 by the Bank of Italy in the annual report presented today that will introduce elements of reassurance.
There are two elements of greatest concern: activity in the automotive sector (Stellantis), although slightly increased compared to 2022, remained at low levels in historical comparison; the hydrocarbon sector recorded a decline in hydrocarbon production and prices.
Above all, the decline in oil extraction – he adds – is destined to weigh even more in terms of royalties recognized following the advance operation decided by the Regional Council to pay off healthcare debts.
Even in the construction and tertiary sectors the trend was not positive.
The weak points indicated by Bankitalia – specifies Tortorelli – confirm the trend monitored by the Employment, Cohesion and Territory Service Office, this time updated to the first quarter of 2024: 2.7 million hours of social safety nets granted in Basilicata, of of which almost all in industry (2.2 million), followed by commerce (344 thousand hours) and construction (97 thousand).
Between the two provinces, Matera recorded an 85% increase in cig hours compared to the first quarter of the year while Potenza recorded a net decrease of -83%. The extraordinary cig is always the most used (almost 2 million hours) followed by the ordinary one (700 thousand).
As for the labor market – continues Tortorelli – the Bank of Italy report strengthens our assessment: in the coming years, participation in the labor market could be strongly affected by the very marked decline in the population and the increase in the average age. We therefore renew our invitation to President Bardi to reconstitute the Regional Council as quickly as possible to have institutional interlocutors with whom to address all social and employment problems to save Basilicata, starting with those employed at risk of losing their jobs.
Finally – says Tortorelli – if, as Bankitalia reports, the resources assigned within the PNRR to public implementing bodies for interventions in Basilicata are almost double the national average at a per capita level, it is essential to monitor the expenditure made and the impact on employment and economic development”.
