The number of self-employed people continued to fall in the four months through January. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 10 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of self-employed people continued to fall in the four months through January due mainly to a prolonged economic slowdown, government data showed Monday.
The number of self-employed people came to 5.5 million in January, down 270,000 from 5.77 million tallied in October, according to the data from Statistics Korea.
The drop comes amid what experts here called “cooling” consumer sentiment due to high inflation and high lending rates, which is affecting consumer spending.
The January figure also marks a 0.5 percent on-year decline from 5.53 million in January 2024, according to the statistics office.
It marked the lowest level since January 2023, when the corresponding number stood at 5.49 million in the post-COVID-19 era.
The latest monthly figure is also lower than numbers reported during the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 global financial crisis.
The number of self-employed people stood at 5.9 million in 1997, 5.61 million in 1998, 6 million in 2008 and 5.74 million in 2009.
The figure for February is set to be released Wednesday.
(Yonhap)
