Crisis hits 69% of Italian families

Italy's economic crisis has cut the spending power of 69 percent of households and forced a growing number of young people to leave the country, a study by the Censis institute released on Friday found. "Around 69 percent of families indicated a reduction or aggravation of their spending power," said the report, which surveyed 1,200 families across Italy. The study said 53 percent of respondents said they had reduced car or scooter travel to save on fuel, 68 percent had cut down on cinema and entertainment and 45 percent now spend less on restaurants. "The year 2013 ends with a sense of growing uncertainty about people's professional future," Censis said. In southern Italy, Censis said that revenues per capita were lower than in Greece or Spain. Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the south is 17,957 euros ($24,501) a year -- slightly more than half the level in the centre and north of the country. The crisis is also forcing many to leave the country. Censis said that 50,000 people left Italy in 2002 and 106,000 in 2012 -- a 115-percent increase in 10 years. The biggest increase was in 2012 when 28.8 percent more people left than the previous year. More than half of those leaving were under the age of 35.