A vacant retailer is about to be demolished amid an financial slowdown in Seoul, Sept. 1, 2024. Yonhap
The variety of self-employed folks continued to fall within the 4 months via January due primarily to a chronic financial slowdown, authorities knowledge confirmed Monday.
The variety of self-employed folks got here to five.5 million in January, down 270,000 from 5.77 million tallied in October, in keeping with the info from Statistics Korea.
The drop comes amid what specialists right here referred to as „cooling“ shopper sentiment as a result of excessive inflation and excessive lending charges, which is affecting shopper spending.
The January determine additionally marks a 0.5 % on-year decline from 5.53 million in January 2024, in keeping with the statistics workplace.
It marked the bottom stage since January 2023, when the corresponding quantity stood at 5.49 million within the post-COVID-19 period.
The most recent month-to-month determine can also be decrease than numbers reported throughout the 1997 Asian monetary disaster and the 2008 world monetary disaster.
The variety of self-employed folks stood at 5.9 million in 1997, 5.61 million in 1998, 6 million in 2008 and 5.74 million in 2009.
The determine for February is about to be launched Wednesday. (Yonhap)
