The economy in Abruzzo recorded growth of 0.9 percent in 2023: a figure in line with the national dynamic and slightly better than the rest of the South although there was a slowdown in the second quarter of the year and in a context general which remains generally complex with above all the strong contraction in the spending power of families. This is stated in the annual report “The economy in Abruzzo” by the Bank of Italy presented in L’Aquila and reported by the Ansa agency.
The slowdown recorded starting from the second quarter of the year, the survey finds, is attributable to the weakness of domestic demand, more restrictive financing conditions and the reduction in families’ real incomes due to inflation.
As regards businesses, last year the phase of cyclical weakness in industry in the strict sense continued. Substantial stagnation in activity levels for the manufacturing sector although there are prospects of recovery for the current year despite the high uncertainty caused by international geopolitical tensions.
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On the contrary, exports began to grow significantly again thanks to the marked recovery in sales of transport vehicles and the phase of strong expansion in exports of pharmaceutical products continued. More than half of Abruzzo’s exports come from multinationals present in the region.
In construction, the expansive effect of incentives for the redevelopment of the building stock continued, although to a lesser extent compared to the previous two years. The activity levels, the report notes, would also have benefited from the implementation of the interventions linked to the pnrr. At the same time, reconstruction works continued in the areas affected by the seismic events. Due to the increase in financing costs, the contraction in real estate sales was marked. In the tertiary sector, activity levels increased slightly.
As mentioned, household consumption has slowed down significantly, continuing to be affected by the reduction in purchasing power due to inflation, although to a lesser extent than in 2022. In the durable goods sector, sales of new cars have started to increase again. The national component contributed above all to the growth in tourist presences in the region, which was significantly lower than the previous year.
