8.5% of the total resident families (they were 8.3% in 2022) are poor, corresponding to approximately 5.7 million individuals (9.8%, stable compared to 9.7% in 2022 ). The intensity of absolute poverty at the national level remains unchanged (18.2%). The individual poor in the North is increasing working poorthe working poor. The incidence of absolute individual poverty for minors is equal to 14%, the highest value in the historical series since 2014. These are some data that emerge from Istat’s preliminary estimates for 2023.
In the North, 9% are poor individuals
«We have highlighted critical aspects in the Istat estimate data», he says Walter Nanni, head of the Research office of Caritas Italiana. «The South continues to record the highest data of all the other divisions, both for families (10.3%) and at an individual level (12.1%). The strong criticality of this area of the country persists, where the number of poor people at an individual level has decreased slightly, while In the north of Italy have increased, there are 136 thousand more poor people than in 2022: as if an entire provincial city suddenly became poor». In the North, the incidence of absolute poverty at family level is essentially stable (8.0%), while a growth in the individual incidence is observed (9.0%, from 8.5% in 2022).
They grew by 0.8% i working poor
The data shows a worsening of the condition of working poor, the working poor. «Absolute poverty in families with an employed reference person is stable at 8.2%, what increases the most is the incidence of poverty among families in which a worker is employed», which reaches 9.1%, from 8.3% in 2022, and concerns over 944 thousand families. «We always remember, however, that poverty is stronger among those who are looking for work», continues Nanni. «The increase of working poor is confirmed by the fact that they are a very present category in Caritas centres». In 2022, in the listening centers and computerized services managed by Caritas alone (2,855 overall), 255,957 people were met and supported; overall, the listening centers and Caritas services supported 11.7% of families in absolute poverty, 1% of resident families.
The number of poor among minors and foreigners is increasing
Istat estimates confirm strong hardship among minors, 12% of families with at least one minor are in poverty. «This percentage is double that of families in poverty with elderly people: thanks to the pension system and a series of prevention interventions, poverty among the over 65s is 6.2%. The presence of children under 18 continues to be a strong critical factor for poverty”, continues Nanni. In 2023, the incidence of absolute individual poverty for minors is equal to 14%, the highest value in the historical series since 2014; in 2023, minors belonging to families in absolute poverty amount to 1.3 million.
«Foreigners, among all social groups, are characterized by the highest incidence of poverty in an absolute sense, almost 36% of families made up of foreigners only (in Italian ones it is six times less)”.
Inability to save
«The gross savings rate of families is very low, at 6-7%, on total disposable income, this is essentially due to the price trend which has increased and weakened non-privileged families and especially disadvantaged ones. By decreasing savings, some expenditure items have increased significantly, for example with regards to health, in three years, there have been significant increases, especially in the Centre-South”. Nanni refers to the approximately 135.28 euros spent monthly by families in Central Italy (in 2021 they were 106.04), and to the approximately 99.40 euros spent in the South (in 2021 they were 90.19 euros). «These data highlight an iItalians’ ability to savecompared to the pre-pandemic situation, it is a very real risk factor in case of emergencies. Caritas knows this well: one event, one operation, one unpredictable situation is enough and people risk economic collapse».
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The ineffectiveness of the state’s responses
«56% of those living in absolute poverty, in 2022, did not receive the citizen’s income. With the transition to the new Inclusion Allowance, which has even more stringent requirements, there is the risk of even greater ineffectiveness. During 2024 we will also evaluate this aspect, especially among those who turn to Caritas centers”, concludes Nanni.
«Two million and 234 thousand families in poverty for a total of 5.7 million people are not acceptable numbers», says the national president of the Acli, Italian Christian Workers Associations, Emiliano Manfredonia, commenting on the preliminary estimates on absolute poverty for the year 2023 released by Istat. «The situation is really very serious and we ask the Government to urgently intervene with a serious policy to combat poverty. So far the direction seems to be the opposite: the two measures designed to replace the citizen’s income are a substantial failure”, continues Manfredonia. «Inclusion allowance and support for training and workfrom the limited data provided to the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies, they reach 550 thousand people respectively (against over one million and 200 thousand of the citizen’s income) and only 24 thousand recipients of the measure which should accompany people aged between 18 and 60 to training and work”.
«A universalistic tool and measures to combat poor work»
«How long will the Government remain deaf and silent in the face of a situation that already today affects the lives of millions of adults and that of 1.3 million minors? To prevent the situation from worsening, we need to rethink an instrument to combat poverty, universalistic and with access criteria different from those introduced by the reform, to be able to cover at least part of those poor people who continue to increase», continues Manfredonia.
«And then you can no longer look the other way: poor work is a plague of our timewe must combat it in every way, investing in training yes, but accompanying it with the fight against pirated contracts, fake VAT numbers and all those forms of exploitation to which, unfortunately, we are becoming accustomed.”
Opening photo by Jonathan Kho on Unsplash