The Istat has made known his report "Structure and size of companies", which photographs the situation of companies in Italy between 2009 and 2010. Companies whose number, in the period considered, was almost stable, recording a slight contraction (-0,2%), which can be explained by the decrease in activities in the South and in the Islands, accompanied, however, by a 2,5% drop in employment, which reaches peaks of 8,2% in the construction sector in the Islands.
In detail, the enterprises active in industry and services are just under 4,5 million and employ a total of about 17 million workers. 95% have fewer than 10 workers and employ 47% of total employment.
Firms without employees, on the other hand, number around 3 million and make up 65,4% of the total active firms. The 23% of employees are concentrated in the manufacturing sector, 20% in wholesale and retail trade and 10% in construction. Sole proprietorships account for around two thirds and involve 26% of the employed. The others adopt, in 17,5% of cases, the legal form of partnership, in 17% that of joint-stock company, while the remaining 1,2% is made up of cooperative companies.
Looking at the industry, it registers the increase in the utilities sector, of those companies, that is, that supply electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning (+36,8% companies and +1,5% employment) and water supply, sewage networks, waste treatment activities and recovery (+2,9% businesses and +1% employment), while a substantial contraction was noted in mining and manufacturing activities in the number of businesses and employees, as well as for the construction sector.
For the services sector, on the other hand, shows a slight generalized increase in the number of businesses and a slight contraction in employment, with a recovery especially as regards health and social assistance (+3,3%), to which must be added the very rapid expansion of betting and lotteries business, growing by as much as 16%.
