3 min.
The Centro Studi e Ricerche IDOS conducted a study on the migratory situation in Abruzzo for Project SI – School of Italian.
Abruzzo is a reality that presents a series of strata in terms of migratory phenomena. Historically, it has welcomed people since the 15th century, while at the end of the 18th century mass emigration began and lasted until the Second World War and to a certain extent the following three decades. From the 1970s to date, the pattern has followed a slow initial and then increasingly greater influx.
At the beginning of 2013, there were nearly 75,000 foreign residents in the region, equally distributed throughout the provinces, although L’Aquila remains in first place with nearly 30% of the foreign population. Overall, immigrants represent 5.7% of the population, but they reach three times this percentage if various municipalities (Anversa, Poggio Picenze, Cansano, Pizzoli and Fossa).
Employed workers born abroad number 73,330, although in over 30,000 cases they are Italian citizens born abroad. According to ISTAT, there are 39,032 foreign workers.
Integration indices for foreigners in Italy reveal that Abruzzo is one of the top regions for the integration of foreigners in Italy, fifth amongst all Italian regions and the first in central and southern Italy. This is especially true for work integration. As happened to many of those who emigrated from Abruzzo in the past and are currently spread around the world (167,153 as of January 1, 2013), immigrant workers are great boost for local development, albeit they too suffer from the negative effects of the current crisis.
In fact, there are 6578 unemployed foreigners in Abruzzo. This is equivalent to a rate of 10.7% or less than that of Italian workers, another indication of their fundamental role. Indeed, in 2012, the number of employed foreign workers increased by 700 units, while that of Italian workers decreased by 1000 units. Another significant figure is the number of foreign-owned enterprises (nearly a third of which are headed by women): 12,668 or 8,8% of all operative enterprises in Italy. In 8 out of 10 cases, these are individual companies that provide employment for the owner and at times others. The majority of these enterprises operate in manufacturing, transport and sales. Over the period 2012-13, these companies enjoyed a positive balance, unlike that of Italian enterprises.
Franco Pittau, who coordinated the survey at the Centro Studi e Ricerche IDOS, believes that “in order to overcome the crisis, Italy needs an extra drive that can be that provided by immigrants and their strong motivation to succeed and partly from a desire to innovate that must involve both Italians and immigrants.”
