ITALIAN FAMILIES STRUGGLE TO MAKE IT TO PAYDAY

Istat research

According to ISTAT (Italian Institute of Statistics), there has been an increase in the number of families struggling to make it to the end of the month. In 2008, according to ISTAT data, 17% had serious difficulties in making it to payday, making it necessary to economise on food, clothing and heating costs.

According to research, more than 10% of Italian families was unable to heat their homes adequately. Economic problems have hit more people (with a 1.6% rise on the previous year’s figures). Almost one-fifth of Italians have experienced difficulty in purchasing necessary clothing (a rise of 1.3%). There has also been an increase in those unable to pay their bills on time – now 11.9% of the population (representing a rise of 3.1%).

Over 8% of Italians have had difficulties covering transport costs. Even the most basic purchases, such as food and drink have been problematic for many; nearly 6% have admitted to economising at the supermarket due to lack of income.

Spending on healthcare has revealed itself a luxury for many: 11.2% admitted to having cut out medical expenditure in order to save money.

Economic hardship has not been experienced to the same extent everywhere in Italy: the further south you go, and the more children there are in the family unit, the greater the hardship faced. In fact, the level of difficulty experienced by Italian families hits nearly 26% (30.7% of families with more than 3 children), as compared with the national average of 17.6%. Sicily has earned itself the unenviable title of being the Italian region which has suffered the most in 2008. ISTAT data shows that more than 30% of the population struggle to make it to the end of the month and 10% of families have insufficient means to buy essential food and drink; 25% of the population avoid switching on the heating for fear of high bills.

Go to the north of Italy, and the picture changes markedly. In Valle d’Aosta, only 6.8% of families report problems in making ends meet and only 2.6% report making economies at the supermarket. The one region which has seen a positive improvement despite the economic crisis – has been Molise. In comparison with the previous year’s figures, families in difficulty reduced by 7% from 17.6 to 11.9% and those unwilling to switch on the heating feel from 11.5 to 6.4%. The Marche region has also held up reasonably well to the ravages of the recession: from 2007 the percentage of those not able to make it to the end of the month has not increased.