Over the last thirty years the purchasing power of labor income has slowly but surely lost strength. Wages have remained almost stagnant while the cost of living has risen, leaving many families in a vulnerable position. The global financial crisis of 2008 further aggravated this process, particularly affecting the middle class, that part of the country which for decades had guaranteed economic stability and social mobility. And when the pandemic arrived in 2020, the picture became even more fragile, between loss of income, closures and generalized uncertainty.

To understand what all this has meant in daily life, just observe how the relationship between incomes and what these incomes really allow you to purchase has changed over time. A ten-year comparison is sufficient to grasp the transformation.

Nine months to get a small car

In 2015, to buy a small car you needed about eight months’ average salary; today we need around nine. A washing machine that ten years ago “cost” the equivalent of a week’s work now requires almost a week and a half. And spending is the most immediate proof: if in 2015 you filled your trolley with 200 euros, today with the same amount you buy around 70% of the same products, bringing home less meat, less fish, less fruit, less vegetables, less oil and less detergents. And this is not a simple change in quantity: it is a transformation that can be felt in everyday life: when preparing the shopping list, when choosing offers, when giving up something to stay within the budget. It is these small daily adjustments, what goes into the fridge and what is missing from the pantry, that define the real perception of one’s economic and social level.

In 2015, more than a quarter of Italians, 27%, closed the year in the red; 51% were able to make ends meet and 22% were able to save at least a little. Today something seems to have moved. Not for everyone, not in the same way, but the signal is there: a small reversal of trend. Those who say they ended the year in the red have fallen to 12%, while those who manage to save have risen to 35%. And the range of those who manage to “make ends meet” is expanding, albeit slightly, from 51% to 53%.

The economic situation

The perception of one’s own condition also follows this trajectory. In 2015, 38% of Italians declared their economic situation to be worsening; today it is 27%. However, the feeling of stability grows: from 57% to 69%.

The economic position testifies to this stabilization. Italians are positioned on average at “6.0” on a scale from 1 to 10, the symbolic point of the middle class, with a few decimal points of improvement in recent years. Even if this “six” contains very different worlds. Men are higher than women (6.2 versus 5.8). Young people, with 6.5, rank higher than the over 64s, stuck at 5.4. Education continues to make the difference: graduates reach 7.2, those with only compulsory education remain at 5.4. The fracture in work is equally eloquent: those employed stand at 6.4, while those looking for work slip to 4.3. The difference linked to political participation is also interesting: those with a high interest are positioned at 7.1, those who are not interested in it at 4.9. Because getting informed, understanding, participating is not just an intellectual act: it means possessing symbolic resources, having tools to read reality, feeling part of a system rather than on the margins. Perceived economic position is also a measure of social inclusion.

Italy has caught its breath

The good news, therefore, is that there is an Italy that has caught its breath. Unfortunately, the bad news is that there is another one that still can’t take this breath. Istat reminds us that in 2024 around 5.7 million people lived in absolute poverty and many others hover just above that threshold, vulnerable to any change in prices, tariffs or income. The area of ​​suffering remains large, and it would be naive to describe the present as a resolved phase.

Yet, something is moving: for the better. The perception of worsening diminishes, stability grows and the groups immediately above poverty – those most affected in the post-crisis years – slowly begin to recover ground. The change is there. It doesn’t concern everyone, it’s not enough yet, but it exists. Now it must be consolidated, strengthened, expanded. Because after a long descent, even a slow ascent is important news. And when it comes to living conditions, every reversal of trend is a new direction.