ECONOMY AND STATISTICS ABOUT EMILIA ROMAGNA
Emilia-Romagna is one of the largest regions in Italy. It covers an area of 22,123.53 sq. km. with a population of 3,921,000 inhabitants (age between 15-64). The density of the population is 177.2 inhabitants
per square km. Nearly half of the territory is constituted by fertile plains, which have attracted intensive farming as well as industrial development. The rest of the territory is equally divided between hills
and mountains, less populated but still suitable for economic exploitation.
Emilia-Romagna enjoys levels of income well above the national average. Per capita income is 21,025
euro, well above the national average (16,315 euro). In the European ranking based on GDP per head
(measured in terms of purchasing power standards, PPS, to take account of differences in price levels)
issued by the European Commission, Emilia-Romagna is included among the top 15 European regions.
Thus the region can be considered one of the most advanced and wealthy areas of the European Union.
LABOUR MARKET IN EMILIA-ROMAGNA
LABOUR FORCE (age 15-64)
1,821,000
EMPLOYED
1,738,000
EMPLOYMENT RATE
44.3%
(the total percentage of 100%
includes the elderly and children)
TOTAL EMPLOYED BY ACTIVITIES
7% agriculture
35% industry
58% other activities
EMPLOYMENT POSITION
68.3% employed
31.7% self-employed
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
5%
The regional rate of unemployment has always been structurally lower than the national average. Even
in the past two-three years, when many export-oriented companies faced a negative repercussion on
their output due to the Asian crisis and the sluggish demand in the European markets, unemployment
rate has continued to drop
This means that regional enterprises have been able to tackle the difficult challenges coming from
increased international competition by undertaking efficient strategies without, however, undermining
the labour market. Indeed, these companies have demonstrated great flexibility both in restructuring
their internal processes and in repositioning their presence in other market segments.
Emilia-Romagna is a very prolific environment with regard to the presence of enterprises: It has been
estimated that there is one enterprise every ten inhabitants. Small and medium enterprises (an average of 5.4 employees per business) constitute the bulk of the regional economy and hire around 76 per
cent of the total labour force (about 1.8 million people).
The total number of 'active' enterprises in Emilia-Romagna reaches 400,000 units. Half of them are
involved in the tertiary sector, which includes wholesale and retail trade, restaurants and hotels, transports and services.
The rest of the companies are equally divided in the primary (agriculture and fishing) and the secondary
(manufacturing, constructions, and utilities production) sectors. The latter are indeed the sources of the
economic development of Emilia-Romagna and the foundations of its traditional culture.
The main sectors of production are the following:
•
TEXTILE AND KNITWEAR
•
FOOTWEAR MANUFACTURING
•
CERAMIC TILE PRODUCTION
•
MOTOR-CYCLES, MOPEDS
•
PACKAGING MACHINERY
•
FARMING MACHINERY
•
BIOMEDICAL PRODUCTION
•
WOOD-PROCESSING MACHINERY
•
MACHINE TOOL PRODUCTION
•
FOOD PROCESSING
•
UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
PRODUCT COMPOSITION OF EMILIA-ROMAGNA’S LOCAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS
AREA
INDUSTRIAL SECTORS
PRODUCTS
CARPI
Clothing
Knitwear/Garments
Wood-processing machinery
Combined machines; Sawing Machines;
Planing machines; Planes; Drilling machines;
Presses; Ancillary machines.
FUSIGNANO
Footwear
Shoe components
SAN MAURO PASCOLI
Footwear
Shoe components
BOLOGNA
Motorcycles
Bicycles; Motorcycles and Components.
Packaging Machines
Dosing, Packaging and Packing machines
SASSUOLO
Ceramic Tiles
Ceramic tiles: Single - Double - fired tiles;
Porcelain-like stoneware.
Machinery: Stacking, Moulding,
Earth-preparing and Glazing machines;
Ceramic firing equipment.
REGGIO EMILIA
Farm machinery
Engines; Farm equipment; Irrigation; Components
MIRANDOLA
Biomedical products
Biomedical equipment; Disposables.
RIMINI
Wood-processing machinery
Combined machines; Sawing Machines;
Planing machines; Planes; Drilling machines;
Presses; Ancillary machines.
FORLÌ
Upholstered furniture
PIACENZA
Machine-tools
Processing centres; Robotics
PARMA
Food-processing
Food-processing: Vegetable, Animal, Dairy products.
Machinery: Vegetable processing machinery;
Moulding machinery; Bottling machines;
Dosing and packaging.
Emilia-Romagna is the fourth largest Italian exporter. Industries with particularly high exports compared to other parts of Italy are minerals and non-ferrous products (mostly ceramics), agricultural and
industrial machinery, food products and textile-clothing products.
•
exports of goods reached 25.5 billion Euro while imports were around 14.4 billion Euro
•
exports of services reached 860 million Euro while imports were up to 1.5 billion Euro
The main foreign markets for regional exports are concentrated in the EU. 55% of the total regional
exports are indeed directed towards European countries, (especially Germany, France, and Great
Britain). Other important markets include North America, Asia and Eastern European countries.
Yet less than half of the regional manufacturing enterprises are involved in foreign trade. The reason for
this discrepancy between the importance of exports in the region's economy and the relatively small
number of enterprises selling abroad can be explained both by the dimension of the latter and by the presence of industrial districts. Small enterprises are usually oriented towards sub-supplying activities inside the district, leaving the commercial activity abroad to bigger enterprises.
More than 60% of the enterprises are also importers. In the majority of cases (37%) imports concern raw
material, 33% instead is made up by final products. Intermediate goods and components count for 20%
of regional imports, whereas industrial machines cover 7% of imports. The companies mostly involved in
importing are those belonging to the chemical, plastic, and rubber sectors, which have their reference
markets within EU borders.
Nearly a third of the companies has commercial agreements with foreign partners, especially
Europeans. The sectors where these agreements are more common are the chemical and the mechanic
sectors. On the contrary, fashion companies do not seem particularly attracted to forging alliances with
foreign partners. Only 4.4% of the manufacturing companies has diverted production abroad, and this
has been done especially by chemical and clothing industries.
Also, the Emilia-Romagna region is ranked second in Italy for regional companies with participation
(meaning equity interests) in foreign companies (344 participated firms); whereas it is third for foreign
companies with participation in regional companies (163 participated firms).
Banking is another important sector in the region. Emilia-Romagna has the highest density of banks per
inhabitant. The regional credit system is well developed and provides precious financial support to enterprises. Interregional and provincial banks constitute the bulk of credit institutions in Emilia-Romagna, as
opposed to other Italian regions where the presence of national institutions is usually higher. The very
fact that regional or provincial banks are well-rooted in the social and economic structure of the region
has allowed them to develop closer ties with local enterprises. This has brought about a high range of
“ad hoc” services tailored to the needs of companies, for instance in the case of export practices and
financial backing.
All above data are published by Unioncamere (Union of Commercial chambers of Bologna)