Low wages and expensive living: the island is holding on to inflation, but its paychecks are sinking.
ACLI Sardinia: "Without decent work and equal pay, 2026 risks ushering in a structural social crisis."Per restare aggiornato entra nel nostro canale Whatsapp
Sardinia manages to contain inflation, but not to guarantee adequate wages.
This is the paradox that emerges from the processing of ISTAT regional inflation data for November, analyzed by the National Consumers' Union.
On the island, the average annual increase per family stopped at 134 euros , with a trend inflation of 0.7%, one of the lowest values at the national level.
A figure that, read in isolation, might seem reassuring. But one need only look beneath the surface to grasp the profound fragilities of the Sardinian economy.
"Regional differences, meanwhile: Olbia-Tempio has seen the largest increase in the cost of living, at €239 per year and inflation of 1.2%, followed by Cagliari (€163, +0.8%) and Sassari (€80, +0.4%)," says Mauro Carta, regional president of ACLI.
The real issue, however, isn't so much inflation as the structural weakness of incomes. "According to the METE 2025 report, the average annual wage in Sardinia in 2024 was just €13,601. This figure places the region fourteenth in Italy and makes any price increase, even modest, a risk to social stability."
The result is an extension of relative poverty: today, 128,000 Sardinian families live in this condition, 5,000 more than in 2023. These families, according to the ISTAT definition, are unable to sustain a consumption expenditure higher than the per capita average. These numbers reveal a struggling region, unable to ensure a minimum level of well-being for all.
Further complicating the picture is the gender issue. Istat data, reprinted by Ansa, confirms that the pay gap between men and women remains significant: in 2024, women earned an average of 29% less than men.
This gap is explained by the greater use of part-time work , fewer days worked, and a greater frequency of placement in less-skilled positions. This trend, as the Mete 2025 report further emphasizes, is intertwined with low female employment and contributes to the island's demographic crisis.
Hence the appeal from the ACLI of Sardinia, which sees 2026 as a decisive year . "Fairly paid work must become the cornerstone of political action," Carta states. "Without a decent income, there is no sense of community belonging, nor social cohesion."
According to the ACLI, intervening on wages is no longer an ideological choice, but an economic and social necessity.