Istat: GDP and employment are growing faster in the South than in the Centre-North
In the South, there was a slightly higher increase (+0.6%) in gross domestic product compared with the national average (+0.5%), and in the number of people in employment (+1.5% compared with an average of +1.1%)
Key points
GDP and employment in the South are growing at a faster rate than in the Centre and the North. In 2025, gross domestic product showed a ‘moderately positive and broadly consistent trend across the country’s various regions’, according to Istat: GDP growth in volume terms stood at 0.5% nationally, as well as in the North-West, North-East and Central regions, whilst the South recorded a slightly higher increase (+0.6%). Whilst the average growth in employment stood at 1.1%, the South recorded a rise of 1.5%.
Looking at the sectors, the most significant increases in value added were seen in the construction sector in the North-West (+4.1%) and in the Centre (+4.0%) – compared with national growth of 2.4% in construction – and in the retail sector in the North-East (+2.7% compared with a national figure of +1%).
Employment in Southern Italy driven by financial and professional services
According to the preliminary estimate of GDP and regional employment in 2025, theSouthern Italy is also the region that contributed most to the 1.1% growth in employment at national level, measured in terms of the number of people in work. In the South, the increase in the number of people in employment was 1.5 per cent, a higher percentage than that recorded in the Centre (+1.1 per cent). The rise in the number of people in employment was more modest in the northern regions (North-West +0.9% and North-East +0.8%). It should be noted, however, that the South is starting from a position that lags behind the national average.
Employment rose across all the country’s macro-regions. In the North-West and Central regions, the highest increases were recorded in the construction sector (with rises of 5.3 per cent and 5.8 per cent respectively); whilst in the North-East, growth was mainly seen in the Retail sector (+2.3%) and Other services (+2.1%). In the South, on the other hand, the most significant increases were recorded in Financial, real estate and professional services (+2.8%) and Other services (+2.4%).
Value added in the construction sector in the North West rose by 4.1%
In the north-western regions, growth in value added was driven mainly by the construction sector (+4.1 per cent), which recorded the highest increase compared with other parts of the country (the national average is +2.4 per cent). Growth was more modest in the trade, hospitality, transport and telecommunications sector (+0.9%) and in the financial, real estate and professional services sector (+0.4%). Growth in the manufacturing sector, however, was weaker (+0.1%), whilst agriculture (-0.8%) and, to a greater extent, other services (-1.4%) saw a decline.
