Italy’s economic struggles continue to be highlighted by the latest figures from Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office. The data reveals a concerning drop in real gross disposable income for Italian households in 2023, now over six points below the levels recorded in 2008. This decline is primarily attributed to soaring prices, which have eroded purchasing power significantly.
Specifically, the gross disposable income index for the EU has increased slightly from 110.12 to 110.82 (with 2008 set at 100). In contrast, Italy’s index has decreased from 94.15 to 93.74. Among EU countries, Italy’s performance is only better than Greece, which saw its gross disposable income fall to 72.1% of 2008 levels by 2022. Italy remains significantly behind Germany, where income has risen by over twelve points since 2008, and France, which has seen an eight-point increase. Spain’s losses have been less severe, with its income at 95.85% of the 2008 figure.
Despite these economic challenges, there are some positive indicators. Eurostat reports improvements in Italy’s labor and education sectors, although the country still lags behind the EU average. The employment rate for Italians aged 20 to 64 rose from 64.8% in 2022 to 66.3% in 2023, a 1.5-point increase. This contrasts with a more modest EU average rise of 0.7 points, from 74.6% to 75.3%. However, Italy remains at the bottom of the EU rankings in this area.
In terms of unemployment, Italy saw a reduction of 0.4 percentage points, from 8.1% to 7.7%, a trend expected to continue into 2024. The EU average unemployment rate dropped by just 0.1 points, from 6.2% to 6.1%. Additionally, the proportion of young people not engaged in education, employment, or training (NEETs) in Italy decreased from 19% to 16.1%, the lowest since the start of the series in 2009. The EU average also fell by 0.5 points, from 11.7% to 11.2%.
Italy also saw a significant decline in the risk of poverty among working individuals, dropping from 11.5% in 2022 to 9.9% in 2023. The EU average risk of poverty among workers was 8.3% in 2023.
Educational outcomes in Italy have improved as well. The early school leaving rate decreased from 11.5% to 10.5%, although it remains slightly above the EU average reduction from 9.7% to 9.5%. This is the lowest early school leaving rate since the start of records in 2000 when it was over 25%. Additionally, the percentage of Italians aged 30 to 34 with a university degree increased from 27.4% to 29.2% in 2023. However, Italy still trails the EU average, which rose from 42.8% to 43.9%.
