The Italian economy and society transitioned from being largely agrarian and relatively poor in the 1960s to being one of the most economically and socially advanced in the world during the following decades. Those changes led to a slowdown in immigration from the south after 1970 and, by the 1980s, a reverse in migration, as jobs became scarcer in northern Italy and northern Europe following the changes. The changing demographics, economy, technology, and culture of Italian society also contributed to social unrest.
During the 1960s, population growth in Italy slowed dramatically. Birth rates in northern and central areas were already low after the war and went below replacement levels in the 1970s. After 1964, birth rates fell sharply in the south as well. During the socialist era, when the Socialist Party gained power in 1963, political appointments began to increase across the public sector and the role of trade unions increased. After printing money to cover rising wages and welfare benefits, inflation began creeping up once again. IRI had to rescue many private companies at public expense, the economy shrank, and the balance of payments deteriorated, though the black-market economy, consisting of domestic textile workers and self-employed artisans, flourished.
A period of economic crisis in northern Italy led to the “hot autumn” of 1969, followed by numerous strikes, occupations, and mass demonstrations, centered around Fiat in Turin. Workers’ factory committees and militant leftist groups often led the unofficial strikes rather than the (party-linked) unions. Apart from concerns over pay and working conditions, the protests also focused on issues outside the factory, such as housing and transportation. The protests were part of a wider political and student movement, which included opposition to the Vietnam War. Employers were forced to offer large pay raises of at least 15 percent as a result of the stoppages, and factory councils were formed in nearly all major plants. The struggles were often led by immigrant urban newcomers.
