Il Southern Italy remains entangled in the maelstrom of crisis. This is certified by the Check-up Mezzogiorno study published by Confindustria and Studi e Ricerche per il Mezzogiorno. According to the data of the analysis, all the main indicators on the economy of the South are still well below the pre-crisis levels.
Between 2007 and 2011, in fact, the GDP of the South contracted, in real terms, by 6,8%, equal to almost 24 billion euros and over 16 companies would have ceased to exist, 0,9 % of total businesses in the South, despite the increase in joint-stock companies (+7.400 in the last year alone).
The number of employed persons also decreased considerably, reduced by about 330 thousand units (almost half of which in Campania alone). Evidence of the problem is the average unemployment rate recorded in the first two quarters of 2012, up from 13,6% in the same period of the previous year to 17,4%.
The only smile, for the economy of the South, comes from exports, the only indicator above pre-crisis levels: the increase in exports, in fact, from the first half of 2011 to the second half of 2012, was 7% , a double growth compared to that of the Centre-North.
