Less and less young people at the helm of Italian companies. Between March 2013 and March 2018, the positions of director in companies in our country grew by around 48 thousand units, but the young people involved in the 'button rooms' of the Company-Italy continue to decrease. Overall, in fact, in the 5 years considered, the percentage of directors over 50 years of age went from representing 53,3 to 61% of the total number of offices, with a loss instead of 7,7 percentage points for that of the under 50s.
This, in summary, is the picture that emerges from the elaboration Unioncamere-InfoCamere on people with directorships in Italian companies in the last five years.
As at 31 March of this year, there were 3,8 million company directors in Italy, almost 50 more than on the same date five years ago. An increase which, however, signals a strong movement between the age groups to the advantage of those over 50 compared to the younger ones. Between 2013 and 2018, directors between the ages of 50 and 69 increased by 194 and in that of the 'over 70s' by another 125, for an overall growth of 319 for all over 50s. echoed by a sharp decline in directors under the age of 50: at the end of March of this year they were 1,5 million with a total decrease of over 270 units in the last 5 years (15% less than in 2013), of which 251 in the 30-49 age group and 20 in the under 30 age group.
On the territorial side, once again the data reveal an Italy divided in two: on the one hand, in the divisions of the Center and the South, there is an overall growth in the number of administrators (79 more in the 5 years under examination, of which 30 in the Center and 49 in the South), opposite dynamics in the Northern districts, with a slighter reduction in the North-East (-8 units, -1,0%) and more significant in the North-West (-24 units, -2,0 .XNUMX%).
The shift in the age distribution of the population towards the older classes affects all geographical areas of the boot. Compared to 2013, in all divisions there is a reduction in the number of directors in the two younger age groups and a marked increase for those over 50: the aging process of company captains appears more accentuated in the South and Islands both in absolute (+102 units) and relative (+20,9%) terms than that found in the central-northern regions, where the "grey" of age makes its way above all to the North-West (+82.500 units as regards absolute values) and in the Center (+17,6% in relative terms). The trend is also fully confirmed on a regional basis: in all 20 Italian regions, both for the 50-69 age group and for the over 70 age group, there are increasing variations in the five-year period examined. Particularly significant was the performance of Molise, which excels in terms of relative growth in both classes (+28 and +47% respectively) and of Calabria (+24 and +42%).
Looking at the productive sectors, in the five years considered the aging phenomenon of directors characterizes all activities, with increases of almost 30% in the 50-69 age group and more than 40% in that of the over 70s in the two housing sectors and catering and business services. On the opposite front, the reduction of administrators under 50 encounters very few exceptions, among which that of administrators under 30 in agriculture (increased by over 2.000 units) and information and communication services (+463) should be noted. Since the data on positions closely reflect the evolution of the stock of enterprises, the interpretation by type of activity highlights a contraction in the sectors which, in the period examined, saw the number of enterprises decrease more significantly: manufacturing (-19 directors ), construction (-17 thousand) and real estate activities (-4.600).
