Italy’s purchasing power is 26% below Germany’s, retail group Confcommercio said Tuesday.

Taking into account the cost of living, the purchasing power of Italian salaries remains 26.5% lower than the German one and 12.2% lower than the French one, it said.

Even taking into account social contributions, which are higher in Italy than in Germany and France, the gap, although decreasing, remains significant (16.5% and 11% respectively).

This is supported by the report on Italian consumption by the Confcommercio Research Office, presented at the association’s annual Forum, at Villa Miani in Rome, organized with Teha-Abrosetti.

The gap between Italy and other European countries, especially Germany, according to Confcommercio, is largely explained by differences in labor productivity.

Product per employee in Italy has been stagnant for thirty years.