The surge of energy prices and general inflation close to 8% (almost 80% due precisely to the rise in energy raw materials) risks blowing up by around mid-2023 120 thousand companies of the tertiary sector e 370 thousand jobs. The alarm was sounded by Confcommercio-Imprese per l'Italia, which estimated the impact of the recent increases in energy and inflation on tertiary sector companies.
The most affected sectors
Among the most exposed sectors are the Retail (in particular the medium and large food distribution, which in July saw electricity and gas bills quintuple), catering and hotels (with triple increases compared to July 2021), i transport (which in addition to the increase in fuel prices, equal to 30-35% since the beginning of the pandemic, must now stop methane gas vehicles due to the increases in raw material prices). But to suffer heavily from this situation, adds Confcommercio, are also the freelancers, travel agencies, artistic and sporting activities, the services of business support and the sector ofclothing which, after a marginally favorable sales season, now finds itself having to bear substantial increases.
Energy spending tripled in 2022
Overall, according to the association's estimates, energy expenditure in the tertiary sector it will reach 33 billion euros in 2022, il triple compared to 2021 (11 billion) e more than double compared to 2019 (14,9 billion). A scenario that arouses great concern and which, in the absence of specific interventions and new support measures, risks – also in the light of the further restrictions on the supply of gas announced by Russia – of increasing the number of companies that could go out of business and cause a strong slowdown in the economy in the second half of the year.
