The overall number of artisans in Italy has dropped by 22% from 2012 to 2023, according to a study published on Saturday by the research centre of artisans association CGIA Mestre (Venice), based on data provided by INPS and Infocamere/Movimprese. The research found that artisans - who own a firm, are partners or help family by undertaking manual jobs - have decreased by nearly 410,000 people (-73,000 over the past year alone) from 1,867.000 units in 2012 to 1,457.000 last year. The significant decrease only halted during the year following the Covid crisis (+2.325 between 2021 and 2020), the study found. The number of active artisan companies has also decreased significantly from the 1,486.559 reported in 2008, a year in which the highest peak was recorded since the start of this century, to 1.258.079 in 2023. Source: Ansa News Agency