The Nuoro production system "shows signs of vitality and resilience , with a growth in new businesses that is above the regional and national average, employment growth, and a particularly significant generational turnover in the primary sector."
This is the picture that emerges from the analysis of the Economic Observatory of the Nuoro Chamber of Commerce on the twelve InfoCamere statistical reports relating to the third quarter of 2026, read in a comparative framework with Sardinia.
According to the report, in the third quarter of the year, the Nuoro Chamber of Commerce district, which includes the Nuoro and Ogliastra regions, recorded 227 new registrations and 184 cancellations, closing with a positive balance of 43 companies . This trend contrasts with the regional average for the same period, which recorded a negative balance of 362 companies.
The data, it is emphasized, becomes even more significant when looking at the first nine months of 2026: new registrations in the district reached 1,051, an 8.1% increase compared to the same period in 2025, more than double the Sardinian average (+3.6%) and significantly higher than the national average (+1.8%) . Even in terms of corporate crises, the local system shows good resilience, with only two insolvency proceedings opened in the quarter.
The data on young people is also significant: almost half of new Sardinian agricultural businesses under 35 are founded in the Nuoro area.
"Agriculture and related activities," the analysis emphasizes, "account for over 10,100 businesses, equal to 36.4% of the district's active businesses, compared to 23.3% in Sardinia and the national average of 13.3%. And in the first nine months of 2026, registrations of new youth-led businesses increased by 19.5% overall, reaching 350, compared to a regional increase of 6.4% . The most significant data concerns agriculture: of the 191 new agricultural businesses under 35 registered in Sardinia between January and September, 90 are located in the district of the Nuoro Chamber of Commerce, equal to approximately 47% of the regional total, a 95.7% increase compared to the same period of the previous year."
Positive signs also come from female entrepreneurship, with new registrations growing by 3.1% in the nine months, bucking the 4% decline recorded at the regional level.
Finally, the employment situation is also positive. In homogeneously monitored companies, employees grew by 1.3%, compared to a substantial regional stagnation (+0.1%), while the overall business system in the district employs more than 50,100 people.
The manufacturing and energy sectors are the main drivers of employment, recording a 4% increase in employment, compared to a regional growth rate of 0.6%. Tourism is also holding steady, with a 0.1% increase, while at the Sardinian level the sector is experiencing a 1.2% decline.
The analysis also confirms the ability of local businesses to generate value: the average added value per business exceeds 680 thousand euros, essentially in line with the regional average.
However, some structural elements remain that require intervention. The business landscape is still highly fragmented, while advanced business services—consulting, technical, professional, and digital services—represent just 6.5% of active businesses, compared to 11.1% in Sardinia and over 17% of the national average.
For this reason, the Chamber of Commerce has established three "development priorities": supporting young people's return to the land through dedicated credit, supply chain integration, and management training; accelerating market access by strengthening logistics connections, external commercial networks, and digital channels; and incentivizing digital and advanced services, fostering the creation and establishment of innovative skills and businesses to support the agri-food, manufacturing, and tourism sectors.
"A comprehensive analysis of the data reveals a region that isn't just holding its own, but continues to generate new entrepreneurial initiatives and opportunities , especially among young people," observes Maria Luisa Ariu , head of the Economic Observatory of the Nuoro Chamber of Commerce. "The strength of generational turnover in the primary sector is particularly striking: almost one in two new youth-led agricultural businesses established in Sardinia in the first nine months of the year is located in our district. This is particularly significant because it shows how agriculture can represent not only a historic component of the local economy, but also a space in which new generations choose to invest and build their future. Added to this is a better employment dynamic than the regional average. However, some structural issues remain, starting with the fragmentation of the entrepreneurial system and the limited presence of advanced services ."
