In 2013, 86.4% of the active enterprises with employees belonged to the segment of micro-enterprises (with less than 10 persons employed), which accounted for 20.5% of all persons employed. The highest share of micro-enterprises (90.3%) was found in the Construction and Trade sectors, while the lowest in Manufacturing sector (71.9%).
In 2014, it is estimated that the employer enterprises births were 111,823. The employer enterprise birth rate was 8.2%, a low increase over the previous year (8.1%). From 2012 to 2013 the death rate decreased from 9.2% to 8.9%.
From 2009 to 2012, at a time of persistent economic recession, employer survival rates of enterprises born in the years 2008 to 2012 were different according to the economic sector. Manufacturing survival rates were higher: 84.4% of enterprises survived after one year while 42.1% was still working after five years from the birth. In the Construction sector the survival rates were the lowest: only 69.1% of companies survived after one year and after five years only 25.7% of new businesses were still active.
In 2013, the share of employees of employer enterprise births on the total number of employees decreased to 1.5% from 2.1% in 2008. The highest decrease was recorded in the Construction sector: the job creation decreased from 4.4% in 2008 to 2.6% in 2013; the job destruction from 5.0% to 3.6%.
The new companies employed more younger people than people employed by active enterprises. In fact in the enterprise births the under30 were 29.3%, while in the active enterprises the under30 employees were only 16.2%. For enterprises births were recorded lower shares of employees “full-time” (58.4% against 77.1%) and permanent (71.0 against 88.7%).
The average size of enterprises with employees established in 2008 and still active after five years increased between 2008 and 2013, from 3.2 to 5.5 average persons employed. The highest increase was recorded in Other Services (from 3.3 to 6.7 average persons employed).
In 2014, the share of High-growth enterprises (those with an annual average growth in terms of employees greater than 20% for three consecutive years) on the total business increased from 2.5% in 2013 to 2.7% in 2014.
The entrepreneurs of employer enterprises births were 71.2% men, more than half were between 30 and 49 years (56.7%) and almost nine out of 10 were born in Italy (86.8%). In the High-growth enterprises and Gazelles (i.e. younger High-growth enterprises) the percentage of male entrepreneurs was higher (respectively 75.8 and 74.4%) but also the age was higher (56.1 and 52.9% of entrepreneurs over fifty), and the entrepreneurs born in Italy (95%).
For information
Censuses and Statistical registers
Patrizia Cella
ph. +39 06 4673.6227
cella@istat.it