There is an “engine” that seems to drive the local economy in 2023: 60% of Piacenza’s GDP comes from exports, with an overall increase of 8.8% (especially good in food, mechanics and means of transport, in addition to the fashion system linked to the provincial logistics hubs), higher than what is observed for the neighboring provinces and the regional context and national. And in the first half of 2024, the figure rises to +14% (-3.3% in the region). Not to be forgotten, then, industrial production increased by 2.8%, in contrast to the 0.5% decline in Emilia-Romagna.
Here is the photograph of thePiacenza economy which emerges from issue 45 of “Piacenz@”, the economic report focused on last year. From here, therefore, the president of the Emilia Chamber of Commerce, Stefano Landiobserves: “Among the three provinces, Piacenza is the one that is growing a little more, despite being the smallest compared to Parma and Reggio Emilia”. But beware of the shadows: “In ten years – explains the technician Matteo Ruozzi – the territory has lost over two thousand registered businesses, around 7%, a decline that reflects socio-economic changes, with the hardships for industry and agriculture. Despite this, Piacenza maintains awidespread entrepreneurship with 90 businesses per thousand inhabitants, above the national average. What needs to be improved – continues Ruozzi – is the sector of startups and women-owned companies, as well as the quality of the employment offer, with around 11 thousand fixed-term contracts”.
In this context, Piacenza’s GDP, according to the latest April calculations by the regional Unioncamere on Prometeia data, after the +1% achieved in 2023, is expected to increase by 0.3% in 2024 and 0.7% in 2025 It must be said, however, that the local situation is recording a slight slowdown, in continuity with the data already recorded in the first half of the year. But the balance is still positive: even the retail businesses they continued their expansion dynamic in 2023, with a further increase in sales of 1.1% (however after the +4.5% of the previous year), in line with that of Emilia-Romagna. The sector of buildingsalthough increasing the turnover by 1.5% thanks to government incentives (+2.8% in 2022), showed a lower variation than the regional one (+1.9%).
Still on the entrepreneurial side, the growing trend seen in the previous two years comes to a halt for the first time stock of companies registered with the Chamber of Commercewith an overall decrease of 375 units in 2023 compared to the number in 2022 (with significant declines attributable above all to trade and agriculture), a decrease which however does not concern foreign-owned companies, which increased by over 230 units.
EXPORT
Exports concern above all Germany, France, Spain, China and the United Statesbut none of the top six companies involved in exports have their registered office in Piacenza: four abroad and two in Milan, therefore due to the role of multinationals in the logistics hub.
Local imports, however, closed with a decline of 4.4% (they were positive in the first half of the year), thus aligning themselves in sign and extent with that of almost all the other territorial areas of reference.
TOURISM
Good news then comes from tourism, with the final data for 2023 which also highlight the good performance of our territory on this occasion. The data from regional sources show Piacenza still positive variations in flows compared to the previous year, both in terms of arrivals (+5.5%) and in terms of overnight stays (+3.2%), although slowing down compared to the first half of the year (when tourists increased by 11% and attendance by 5.5% compared to the same period in 2022).
The dynamics of Piacenza tourism in 2023 was still expansive, and still quite in tune compared to that of the other Emilia-Romagna provinces; in this context, Piacenza always ranks first in the region for intensity of recovery and growth in overnight stays compared to 2019.
WORK
The Piacenza job market also fared well in 2023 – in line with the more general dynamics observed at a national level. Istat’s sample survey of the workforce shows clear improvements on average in 2023 employment rate (70.6%, +1.8 points compared to 2022) and for activity (75.5%, +1.9 points), less for unemployment ratewhich now reaches 6.4% (from 6.5% in 2022). The Unioncamere-Inps survey indicates a significant increase in employees in business localizations, equal to 1.9% (over 2,000 more employees than in 2022, with increases in particular in services, industry and construction), while the the balance between starts and terminations of employee relationships also grows in 2023, with an increase of 2,716 positions, almost triple what was observed the previous year. However, the post-pandemic recovery implemented by the Redundancy Fund will end during 2023, which, with approximately 990 thousand hours authorized for employees of companies in our area, returns to grow slightly (+5%).
INFLATION
As regards inflation, in the province of Piacenza, between May 2023 and April 2024 the consumer price index for the entire national community recorded in the capital showed a positive and decreasing dynamics (aligned with the regional and national one), which was accentuated in particular between October and November 2023 thanks to the strong reduction trend recorded by the prices of energy products.
POPULATION
Finally, 2023 represented a year of recovery for the provincial territory development also from a demographic point of view, with a confirmation and something new. The population of Piacenza – according to data from the regional statistical system – has continued to recover from the lows of the pandemic, with an absolute increase of 889 inhabitants and a rate of change (+0.3%) triple compared to that of 2022. This increase however, this year too is due exclusively to the component of Italian citizens “born abroad” (where the acquisition of citizenship by foreigners has a preponderant weight), which in fact more than counterbalances the population losses due to the decline in Italian citizens “born in Italy” and the slight decline in foreigners themselves. At the territorial level, Furthermore, the population decline in the mountains has stopped – for the first time in decades: although to be confirmed in the years to come to speak of a real reversal of trend, the data is nevertheless significant and highlights the important role played by the foreign component of the population on this occasion too.
