2/2/2011 00:00:00
According to data released by ISTAT for the period 2006-2009 the disposable income of Italian families has been shared, on average, for about 53% in the North, about 26% in the South and the remaining 21% in Centre. During the period considered this distribution showed some variations that have affected mainly the north-west, which has seen its share decreasing by 0.6 percentage points (from 31.1% in 2006 to 30.5% in 2009) in favour of Center and South (+0.4 and +0.2 percentage points respectively). The share of disposable income of households in the Northeast remained unchanged at 22%. The reporting period has also seen the gradual decline in the rate of growth of national disposable income, which passed from an increase of 3.5% in 2006 to a decline of 2.7% in 2009, the first since 1995. The impact was strongest in the North (-4.1% in the North-west and -3.4% in the Northeast) and more limited in the Centre (-1.8%) and South (-1.2 %). In general, this decrease is mainly attributable to the strong decrease in income, although in some regions (especially in Piedmont and Abruzzi), an important negative contribution came from the slowdown in income from employment.
