One out of 4 Italians at risk of poverty, worsens in the South with over 40%. Incomes rise in the North – Corriere.it

One out of four Italians lives at risk of poverty or social exclusion. That is 14 million and 300 thousand people in 2022 they lived in a family at serious risk of poverty, without a job, with an average income of less than 60% of the median one, i.e. 11,155 euros, i.e. less than 930 euros per family per month. Worse still for 4.5% of the population – about 2 million and 613 thousand individuals -: for many of them it was even difficult to have a regular meal every two days.

Despite the dramatic nature of these numbers, theIstat certifies that 2022 saw an improvement compared to 2021 which for many translated into heavy aftermath of the economic crisis caused by the Covid pandemic of 2020: the percentage of people at risk of poverty in fact decreased, going from 25.2% to 24.4% and the percentage of people in a state of severe deprivation down from 5.9%. But there is no need to be optimistic.

Because in the South the percentages have not changed and indeed in some cases they have even grown: with 40.6%, the South remains the Italian area with the most people at risk of poverty and Apulia, Sardinia and Calabria even show a worsening with the increased risk of poverty or social exclusion, especially due to regarding low work intensity and severe deprivation. Campania and Sicily are improving, at least from a working point of view.

And also regarding average household incomes, the South has a negative development: -1.7%, when instead the country’s average real income in 2021 starts to rise again after the pandemic, marking a +1% with 33,798 euros equal to 2,817 euros per month, but a figure driven by incomes in the North where more substantial increases were recorded with +3.3% in the North East and +2.5% in the North West. However, these figures still remain below 5.3% compared to 2007, the year preceding the great crisis of 2008, especially for self-employed workers (-10.5%).

So it remains stable the gap between the poorest and the richest who can count on higher incomes 5 and a half times. A gap that could have been much higher (over 6 and a half times) without state support such as basic income, inclusion income, and various bonuses. This is why opposition parties and trade unions are calling for the fight against poverty to be stepped up. For all, it was a mistake to cancel the basic income which, despite the criticisms – says the CGIL – has contributed to reducing gaps and inequalities, and they are asking to amend the Labor decree being examined by Parliament.