Censis report shows Italians concerned about future

05 dicembre 2014

2 min di lettura

(AGI) Rome, Dec 5 - Though almost one in two Italians - 47percent - is certain that the worst of the economic crisis isover, 60 percent said they fear falling into poverty in theimmediate future, a Censis report published on Friday revealed.With income plummeting, families are increasingly tapping intosavings. The human capital of some 8 million people is wasted,with young people in underqualified jobs, and half of them intemporary or intermittent employment. The 48th Censis report onItaly's social situation depicts a country withdrawing intoitself and weighed down by cynicism, with notable effects onfamilies' management of their finances. Bank deposits and useof cash increased by 4.9 percent from 2007 to 2013. Shopperspaid an estimated 410 billion euros in cash - 41 percent of thetotal. Cash, according to Censis, is the instrument for"informal transactions, the black market, the undeclared...togenerate untaxed income and reduce costs". Italians' tendencytowards the waiting game also seems fuelled by the belief thatknowing the right people is the key to success (29 percent),rather than intelligence (7 percent). Italians themselves havebecome more withdrawn in their everyday lives, with 47 percentstating that they are alone an average 5 hours and 10 minutes aday - the equivalent of living 78 days a year in isolation.Social networks are used by 49 percent of the population, andby 80 percent of those under 29. On the business front, SMEsare more reliant on exports and internationalisation, with fewbusinesses inclined to forming groups. Large Italian businessesare suffering, either selling to foreign buyers or, in 41.8percent of the cases, resorting to reorganisation. Censisestimated that the industrial sector will make up only 7.8percent of the GDP (333 billion euros less than 2007) due to asteep drop in investments. Those who seem to be handling thecrisis the best, on the other hand, are immigrants, with125,965 retail stores (15 percent of the total) owned byforeigners - a 13.4 percent increase since 2011. The tourismsector offers some hope, with the 'Italian way of life'attracting 186.1 million visitors in 2013 generating 20.7billion euros, 6.8 percent more than in 2012. The number ofItalian speakers in the world has also grown, reaching around200 million. . .