Foreign demand has been the driving force behind the recent acceleration in Milan and Lombardy: in 2017 regional exports reached a new record at 120 billion euro, +7,5% compared to 2016 (year with a meager +0,6%). This was revealed in the April issue of the Booklet Economia, published by Assolombarda and Confindustria Monza and Brianza.
The dynamics of Lombardy are among the best in national and European comparison and reflect positive trends in all the provinces and in all manufacturing sectors. More in detail, the major contribution comes from the Milan area, Lodi, Monza and Brianza (+8,5% per year). Among the sectors, pharmaceuticals (+25,2%), food (+17,0%) and metals (+9,0%) still stand out, but also for more recent performance automotive, electronics and rubber/plastic.
The prospects for the coming months are positive, as evidenced by the confidence indexes of the manufacturing, innovative tertiary sector and consumers in our area. Growing consumer confidence reflects the good performance of the labor market: in 2017 the balance of employed people compared to the pre-crisis reached +125 thousand in Lombardy and, after nine years, also the employment rate (67,3%) exceeds the level of 2008 (66,9%). The positive trend in women's employment continues, together with a finally positive balance for men as well, and in more educated workers. Fixed-term employment in particular is growing the most. Despite the improvements, the generational imbalance remains: the positive balance of 125 employed is the result of -505 under 44s and +631 over 45s.
Finally, on the credit front, in the third quarter of 2017 i bank loans to Lombard companies are substantially stable (-0,1%) compared to 2016. Loans to industry (+1,5%) and services (+0,6%) and businesses with over 20 employees (+0,3%) are growing. Conversely, loans to construction (-5,9%) and smaller businesses (-3,0%) continue to decrease.
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