Bankitalia: Campania economy grows by 3.5%, the challenges of NRRP

Campania’s economy in 2022 grew positively, reaching +3.5% compared to 2021, growth on a par with the +3.7% for Italy as a whole, fully recovering the levels of 2019, pre-candemic. This was stated by Marina Avallone, director of the Bank of Italy’s Campania office, presenting the report on the region’s economy in 2022. The growth in the Bank of Italy report concerns all the main sectors of the region’s economy.

“There are some minor criticalities in some sectors with investments not growing in manufacturing,” Avallone explained, “but there are other sectors that have driven the recovery, such as services, which have benefited from the easing of restrictions on mobility, and tourism, seeing that the number of visitors this year has doubled compared to last year, and for foreigners the figure has tripled. The other sector with very strong growth is obviously that of construction, which has benefited from the incentives is state for renovations and now programmes NRRP works.

Exports from Campania are also growing, rising by 29.4% (compared to Italy’s +20%), especially in the agro-foods, pharmaceuticals and means of transport sectors. Employment growth is excellent for families, which has reached a higher level in the region than in 2019, with an increase in workers greater than the rest of the South and the Italian average Italy, the unemployment rate fell by 2% to 17%, while the activity rate is 52.6%, with a greater increase in the construction and services sector. The Bank of Italy also emphasises the increase in disposable income for households, which rises by an average of 5.9% but is affected by inflation and thus real income falls by 0.9%. Among the crucial points
of 2023, the institute points out that Campania has EUR 13 billion from the NRP earmarked for sustainable mobility, ecological transition, urban regeneration and kindergartens. Of this amount, 70% is managed by local authorities, particularly municipalities, which will have to be able to invest
80% more than in the previous three-year period.