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With a partial recovery between October and December, Lombardy manufacturing managed to close 2023 on positive ground, gaining 0.2% in terms of production. Nothing sensational compared to the strong progress of the previous two years but it is still a partial reversal compared to the most recent data. In the fourth quarter, in the findings of Unioncamere Lombardia among a sample of over 1500 companies, industrial production advanced by 0.4%, after having lost 0.6% between July and September.
It is interesting to note how on average the rate of use of the facilities improves, rising by two points to 74.6%, with few sectors presenting rates below the warning threshold of 70%.
Domestic orders, another partially positive signal, change course and undergo a favorable economic change, although very close to zero: the 2023 average still remains negative.
Signs of partial stabilization, within a framework that still remains weak on average, as highlighted by the annual comparison: on a trend basis, in fact, the fourth quarter closed in the red by 0.8%, after -1.5% in previous period.
Stagnation was also recorded on the labor market, with a growth in the total number of hours of redundancy pay and an increase in the number of companies using it, a sign of increasingly widespread difficulties. If exits from the labor market remain stable, the entry rate is further reduced, thus leading to a negative balance of 0.3%.