QUALITALY 139

May 2024 IX MAGAZINE in the more complex models of offer (such as restaurants), while the bar segment, traditionally more popular because it is less complex to manage, is declining. In short, we are moving towards a structuring of the offer, which sees the number of companies shrinking compared to 2022: not necessarily bad news if this means a strengthening of skills and an updating of formats, given that the very large number of 332,000 companies continues to have an above- average rate of female entrepreneurs (29% of the total) and 12.3% of young people deciding to set up their own business. Of course, entrepreneurial turnover in our sector continues to represent a question mark with respect to the quality and professionalism of those who devote themselves to this trade, and a phenomenon that needs to be studied in depth remains that of foreign entrepreneurship (which in the sector has reached and by now exceeds 14%) and expresses some excellence, but also some forms of necessary self- employment. Carefully reading the data from the world of the Public Establishments, once again, tells us more than a ‘simple’ sectoral and economic trend: it often suggests where society is going and can be food for thought both for the company (of any sector) and for its representation. __________________________________ BOX The numbers of catering The number of active enterprises under Ateco code 56.1 (restaurants and mobile food service activities) now amounts to 195,471. Among restaurants, too, the majority are sole proprietorships, but in this case less than half have chosen to operate with this legal form, the share standing at around 45%, and it is still in the south that levels above 50% are recorded, with a peak in Calabria where sole proprietorships account for 63.2%. The preference between partnerships and corporations is reversed with respect to the bars: corporations account for almost 31% as against 23.8% of partnerships. Corporations record a rather high figure in Lazio with 55.7%, values above 30% are recorded in Campania, Lombardy, Abruzzo and Umbria. __________________________________ __________________________________ BOX Young enterprises Young enterprises are companies in which the participation of persons ‘under 35’ is more than 50 per cent overall, averaging the breakdown between shareholding and offices held. There are 42,652 active enterprises in the catering sector managed by under- 35s, accounting for 12.9% of the total, distributed as follows: 60.3% restaurants, 38.9% bars and 0.8% canteens and catering. Regarding the incidence on the total number of active enterprises, the number of young enterprises among restaurants is higher than the national average, while for canteens and catering the incidence is marginal. Here too the prevalent legal form is the sole proprietorship, where just under two out of ten entrepreneurs are young. At a territorial level, it is the south that has the highest incidence of young enterprises, with Campania (16.9%) and Calabria (16.1%) holding the record, followed by Sicily 15.7%. This is proof of how attractive the sector is among young people precisely in those areas of the country where the difficulty of finding a job is greatest. In terms of numbers, Lombardy and Campania hold the record. __________________________________ AT PAGE 32 DID YOU KNOW? Ateco code: which one to choose? CHOOSING THE RIGHT CODE IS ESSENTIAL FOR TAX PURPOSES. IN 2022, A NEW ONE WAS ADDED IN THE CATERING SECTOR By Elena Consonni Every productive activity is identified by a code, called the ATECO code, and catering activities are no exception. ‘The ATECO (Economic Activity) codes,’ explains Antonino Ganci of Studio Giansiracusa in Seregno (Mb), ‘are the Italian translation of the EU’s NACE (Nomenclature statistique des Activités économiques dans la Communauté Européenne) nomenclature. These codes meet a criterion of statistical standardisation, the purpose of which is to have a uniform basis for classifying economic activities within the European Union. The NACE code was created in 1970 by Eurostat, the statistical body of the European Commission’. The letters and numbers that make up the Ateco code have a specific meaning: the letters indicate the sector in which the activity operates; the numbers indicate the specific category (and possibly the sub- category) to which the activity refers. The numbers present can be from 2 to 6: the more they are, the greater the degree of specification of the activity. Catering activities are represented by the letter L (covering all Horeca activities, including hospitality) and the first two digits 56. The subsequent digits indicate the specific sectors: the first two indicate the category; the next two the subcategory. The Ateco Codes had remained unchanged since 2007, but in 2022 a revision was made to take into account new types of activities, and the catering category was one of those that saw changes. In particular, it became necessary to correctly classify catering activities related to fish farms, which had not previously been provided for. Currently, therefore, the catering sector is classified as follows: 56.10 RESTAURANTS AND MOBILE FOOD SERVICE ACTIVITIES This category includes the provision of catering services to customers, with table service or self-service, whether the meals are consumed on site, taken away or delivered to their homes. The category