Pisa’s economy was declining in 2023 and the situation by mid-2024 does not seem to be improving. The North-West Tuscany Chamber of Commerce, in fact, predicts a worsening in terms of turnover, due to global conflicts, the still restrictive monetary policy and the slowdown of partner economies, as well as the end of building incentives. Despite the employment growth of 0.7%, the balance of the province of Pisa marks -3% which, thanks to the global economic situation, causes a negative climate of confidence. However, businesses are not giving up and plan to take priority actions during 2024 to address the challenges that await them. With this in mind, the president of the North-West Tuscany Chamber of Commerce, Valter Tamburini, reiterated his body’s support. “Businesses have shown remarkable resilience. We are on the front line to offer businesses what they may need. We are convinced that, through our commitment and the support of the economic community, businesses in our area will be able to continue to grow and prosper, successfully facing the challenges of the market”. Specifically, in Pisa 32% of companies reported increases in turnover, while 35% suffered decreases. For 2024, the confidence climate tends to remain negative, due to the worsening in construction and trade, with a balance between increases and decreases in turnover falling to -16 percentage points. Among the global factors that most worry Pisan companies, more than half put global conflicts first (51%), fears regarding restrictive monetary policy remain high (48%), and a third of companies are afraid of the slowdown of the main world economies (33%).
A significant share fears the blockage of the Suez Canal (26%) due to attacks on cargo ships, which force the routes to be extended. Finally, 22% blame climate change and extreme weather events. As regards internal factors, 70% of Pisan companies are worried about the decline in the purchasing power of families, 63% about the high tax burden and 48% about excessive bureaucracy. To face the challenges of 2024, 46% of Pisan companies intend to invest in improving the planning of economic and financial aspects, 38% in the professional training of employees, while 31% focus on strengthening digitalization processes and the economy circular. The last point of recovery is environmental sustainability, thanks to the PNRR and the European tenders, in which 28% of Pisan entrepreneurs plan to invest.
Mar. Fer.
