Rome, 11 May (LaPresse) – Over the last six years, the number of people employed in the retail and tourism sectors has risen by 351,000 (+8.4%), but this is the result of strong growth in salaried employment and a decline in self-employment. This is what emerges from a Confesercenti study based on Chamber of Commerce data, according to which 177,000 self-employed workers were lost over the period, a reduction of 14.1%, whilst the number of employees rose by 528,000, an increase of 18%. “In 2019,” the study states, “one in three workers was self-employed; today, it is not even one in four.” Weighing most heavily on the negative balance is the retail sector, which has lost 135,762 entrepreneurs, collaborators and other professionals over six years (-16.6%). The catering sector is also in decline, with 45,523 fewer self-employed workers (-11.9%); travel agencies remained stable (-0.4%), whilst the accommodation sector grew: +3,766 self-employed workers (+7.4%), an expansion – explains the association – linked to the rise of various forms of accommodation, from holiday homes to B&Bs.