I dati economici italiani del primo trimestre 2017 sono tutti molto buoni, a cominciare dalla produzione industriale che segna un incremento dell’1% confermando così il trend in ascesa degli ultimi mesi. Le misure di sostegno alla crescita e all’economia degli ultimi anni, insieme alle misure previste dalle varie leggi di Bilancio hanno consentito di  passare dalla crisi alla ripartenza. La strada è comunque ancora molto lunga, particolarmente sul fronte della lotta alla disoccupazione giovanile.  

Italy is the world’s ninth largest economy with its economic structure relying mainly on services and manufacturing. The services sector accounts for almost 75% of total GDP and employs around 65% of the country’s total employed people with wholesale, retail sales and transportation being the most important contributors.

The Italian economy sent mixed signals in the first quarter of 2017. Private consumption seems to have weakened as retail sales declined for a second consecutive month registering a -2.1% overall decline for 2016. The high unemployment rate likely effected consumer confidence. Industrial production also fell in January 2017.

Going forward, the Italian economy faces a number of important challenges, one of which is unemployment. The unemployment rate has increased constantly over the last seven years. The high unemployment rate highlights the weaknesses of the Italian labor market and growing global competition.

Italy’s population was 50.7 million in 2016, just a slight increase from previous years. The GDP growth was 1% for 2016, up from 0.7% in 2015 and the highest reading since 2010. However, the troubling unemployment rate is also on the upswing at 12.1% at year-end 2016.  
On the upside, business confidence increased in the first quarter, boosted by higher confidence in the manufacturing sector.