Italian companies are keeping pace, despite the crisis putting a strain on the entrepreneurial spirit. In 2013, the balance between closing activities and new activities was substantially positive, in the wake of 2012, even if this is the most modest growth since 2004 to date. In the past year, 12 more businesses (+0,2%) were recorded compared to the closures, for a total of 384.483 businesses, around 600 more than in 2012. However, the number of businesses that closed their doors increased, from 364.972 in 2012 to 371.802 in 2013.
These are the data collected and processed by the Italian Chambers of Commerce, in the usual Movimprese report released today by Unioncamere, which speaks of stability over time: in the last nine years, new registrations have always been higher than terminations and also in 2013 ( the most difficult year) 1.053 companies were born every day, compared to 1.018 that closed; however, from 2007 to today, the flow of new registrations has decreased by 11,8%.
However, as observed by the president of Unioncamere, Ferruccio Dardanello, “the businesses that continue to spring up are the result of self-entrepreneurship that must be viewed favorably and supported. We have to nurture the courage of those who do business and restore confidence in families and job seekers and to do this it is essential to strengthen the networks that build this confidence, starting with the institutions. It is a commitment that the Chambers of Commerce are carrying out together with the business representatives, to improve the quality of services and their own efficiency».
The sectors that recorded the + sign were above all trade (+15.260 companies), accommodation and catering activities (+11.618) and business support services (+7.723 companies, which include rental and voyage). The greatest reductions involved construction (-12.878 companies), manufacturing activities (-5.929) and transport and warehousing (-1.156). The most worrying data is that relating to the artisan world: with a negative balance of -27.893 enterprises, in 2013 the artisan sector in fact lost almost two percentage points (-1,94%) of its production base, the most significant contraction by far since the beginning of Movimprese's statistical surveys.
On a national basis, the cessation of activities mainly concerned the North-East. In all the other areas, despite the presence of a positive balance, a lower growth was recorded compared to the previous year, with Central Italy confirming itself as the most resilient area of the entrepreneurial system (+0,74%, more than three times the national average). More contained, but above the average, the values of the South (+0,31%) and the North-West (+0,23%).
The enrollment of craft businesses, on the other hand, decreased from North to South.
